Accidental Sparks
by LinChungIsHot
Summary: When Cherrylea plays Ryoma, she mentions that she's seen the Twist Serve before.  When Ryoma mentions that to his father, his father grins and murmurs, "Ah."  Does Cherrylea know Nanjiro Echizen?  If so, then why does Ryoma refuse to accept the fact?
1. Chapter 1

"Hey."

Takeshi Momoshiro heard the sound of the soft voice. He had been on his way to the Academy, his tennis ball duffle bag swung over his broad shoulder. He stopped walking and turned to face a young girl, a year younger than him, dressed casually in a white shirt and blue cut – off jeans. "Was that addressed to me?" he asked.

The girl grinned, brushing a lock of thick, black hair from her eyes. "Which way?" she repeated, her warm, chocolate brown eyes sparkling.

Momo grinned back. "Over there," he pointed, "keep walking. You can't miss it."

"Thanks!" she replied, taking off at a run. Her open jacket flapped out behind her as she took fast strides. And as she faded into the horizon, Momoshiro couldn't help but think a bit of Ryoma.

Sakuno was humming to herself as she walked. She was on her way to the Tennis Courts to, hopefully, see Ryoma play. She had developed a huge crush on the Prince of Tennis, and though she didn't let it show, she knew he was perfect for her. She walked with a bounce in her step.

She didn't need to look where she was going. She had the path to the Tennis Courts down by heart. When she neared them, she could hear the tennis balls bouncing, creating noise, and she smiled as she opened the wire door to let her into the courts.

Her eyes quickly scanned through the courts, but they stopped on an unfamiliar girl. The girl was leaning against the wire wall casually. She was about the same age as Sakuno. Sakuno decided to introduce herself.

She made her way through the first court and then approached the girl. "Hi," she said, "I'm Sakuno Ryuzaki. Are you new?"

The other girl turned to examine Sakuno. She slowly began to smile. "Yeah," she replied, "I am. The name's Cherrylea and I'm from Central Asia." Her black bangs fell over one eyes, and with the flick of her head, Cherrylea had it tucked behind her double pierced ear. She had soft, light brown skin and a cheerful voice.

"That's a pretty name," commented Sakuno. She didn't mean to be rude, but she allowed her eyes to wander away from Cherrylea. Her purpose coming here was to find Ryoma, after all. "Well, welcome to the Academy."

"It's a great place," replied Cherrylea with a smile, "thanks." Before she could say more, however, a male in a white T – shirt and jeans approached the two females. He had a tennis racket tucked comfortably in the crook of his right arm.

"Yo, Sakuno!" he called, grinning at the female with the long braids. She smiled back at him. Then his eyes slid over to Cherrylea. "Yo, yo, yo, it's you again."

She had to look up because of his height advantage. She raised a hand to protect her eyes from the Sun. The mirrored bangles on her slim arm fell down with a tinkling noise. "And it's you," she shot back.

Sakuno jumped in to help with names. "Momo, meet Cherrylea. Cherrylea, meet Momoshiro. He's on the Tennis Team." As soon as she said that, she cringed. Well, _duh _he's on the Tennis Team – as if the jacket and duffle bag didn't make it more obvious!

Cherrylea lowered her hand. "Cool," she commented, trying to inject enthusiasm into her voice as she scanned the courts. Too late.

Luckily, Momoshiro wasn't one to get angry over the littlest thing. He bent down to tie his left shoe. "What," he said, "no swooning, no congrats?"

She glanced at Sakuno before settling her gaze on Momo. "I'm sorry…I don't like sports, and the last time I played Tennis, well…" she shrugged before reaching up to fix her hair.

Momoshiro chuckled. "Well, you don't know what you're missing," he said before reaching out to tousle her hair. Cherrylea began to laugh as she tried to escape his grasp. A young male approached them, carrying a bag over his shoulder. He had long - ish black hair, brown golden eyes, and light skin. He had on a white T - shirt and black shorts.

"Yo, Ryoma, meet Cherrylea," boomed Momoshiro. He let go of the girl, and she stepped back to fix her hair hurredly. Almost as an afterthought, Momo added, "She's doesn't like Tennis."

"Because you suck at the sport, right?" Ryoma said coolly. Cherrylea grinned as her eyes widened; she clearly enjoyed his cool confidence.

"No, it's because I got into an accident when I was younger, and Mat - " her brown eyes darkened, and she looked into the distance. She shook her ehad and turned back to Ryoma. "Never tried the sport, sweetie, and it bores me." To add to her point, she yawned, placing her fingertips over her mouth.

"Hm..." Ryoma looked at Sakuno thoughtfully. "She your friend, Sakuno?"

She loved the way he said her name. She blushed and twirled one of her long braids in her hand with a shrug. "She's new..." she let the sentence explain itself to Ryoma.

With her answer, Ryoma grinned devilishly. He dropped to his knees to open up his duffel bag; he stood back up, a Tennis Racket in each hand. He tossed the one if his left hand to Cherrylea. "Then it's time I teach you about tennis."

Cherrylea's hand shot out and she caught the racket. She looked down at it, and something close to a pained look flooded her eyes. When she looked up, however, she was grinning and her eyes were taking on a glimmer. "You're on," she said.


	2. Chapter 2

The four of them made their way to an empty court; they didn't notice the Starters come in. Shuichiro Oishi crossed his arms loosely over the chest of his Tennis Team jacket. He smiled knowingly when he saw Momoshiro following Ryoma and the two girls, most probably organizing a tennis match. "There goes Momo again," he said.

Behind Oishi, Eiji Kikumanu sighed. He rolled his eyes in a bored fashion. "If he's doing what we all know he's doing," he said in a matter - of - fact tone, "he'll get in trouble when the captain arrives."

Shusuke Fuji glanced at Eiji and smiled.

* * *

Ryoma stood on the left side of the court. He was bouncing a Tennis ball on his racket. Even though the Tennis ball never left contact with the racket strings, his eyes were on the opposite court.

Momoshiro was helping Cherrylea, quickly warning her about Ryoma and giving her as much advice as one can in about two minutes. "Listen," he was saying, "I've played him before. He's left handed, but he'll most probably play you with a handicap. No matter what goes down, yo ugotta stay focused." He ran his eyes quickly over her to make sure she was in the right position. Then he made his way to the big, tall seat where the referee sat.

"One - set match. Service Ryoma Echizen!"

"Since you've never played before, I'll go easy on you, okay, Cherry?" Ryoma looked up, grinning. He had his racket in his right hand, and he held a Tennis ball in his left.

She grinned back and raised an eyebrow, but she didn't reply. She poised, ready to play.

Ryoma threw the ball into the air and then hit it with his racket. The ball flew towards Cherrylea, and he smiled, thinking that she wouldn't hit it. He relaxed, slouching back his shoulders.

She moved her racket in a fluid movement to return his serve. The ball cleared the net and she looked at Ryoma, a playful frown on her face. "You thought I wouldn't hit it; I saw that grin!" she accused him.

Ryoma ran to his left and lobbed the ball up into the air. "I did," he admitted with a laugh.

"I think I'm gonna watch for a while," said Shusuke, smiling as he watched Cherrylea run up to the net and hit the ball in one graceful, effortless motion. It spun at Ryoma, but he didn't blink as he sliced it to his left.

"How did I know you would say that?" sighed Eiji, but he was watching as well, despite what he said. In fact, all the Starters were watching Ryoma against Cherrylea.

Sakuno was standing next to the chair Momoshiro was sitting in. She was watching happily. As much as she had a crush on Ryoma, she wanted Cherrylea, at least, to win. She had never witnessed a Ryoma defeat.

"You're pretty good for a girl who's never played before," commented Ryoma, watching as Cherrylea tried to slice it past him, in a sharp, deep hit. He returned it quickly.

"Yeah?" she panted. She then got on the balls of her feet as the ball got closer...

"I guess...I am." She jumped and rotated her body in mid - air to back hand slice the ball. Ryoma started to run, to return her hit, but he stopped when he realized she had hit the shot sharply. He let her have the point. He raised his hand to wipe some sweat off of his neck. "Nice, Cherry," he grinned.

She smiled back as Momoshiro announced, "Love - 15."


	3. Chapter 3

Lea?

She was lying on her bed. She loved her room. The carpet was a soft plush, Moorland Heather colored. The walls were painted Pale Lemon. Her bed, covered in tons of plush pillows, had lavender sheets and covers. There was a desk, with her bright purple laptop hooked up on top, and her homework was neatly stacked. The desk was positioned by the large window with Angel Food curtains. Her bookcase, resting next to the desk, was filled with Japanese manga novels and memory books and fictional stories. On the top were framed pictures, some of her family, and some of her friends. The door was a walk in closet, on the right, and her bathroom door was open, letting some steam leak out.

She was wrapped in a towel, her stomach flat. Another small towel held her hair up in a bun, which was drying off.

She looked up just as someone knocked on the door. Lea? called the voice yet again. It s for you.

Come in, then, replied Cherrylea. The door opened and her mother stepped in. She was a small, delicate woman like her daughter, dressed in a white wrap sweater and tight white jeans. Both she and Cherrylea shared the same skin tone and same hair, thick and tamed. She didn t look happy.

Cherrylea sat up, leaning lightly against the headboard. She took the wireless phone from her mother, who left, shutting the door.

Hello? she said into the mouthpiece, looking out the window. It was seven at night, so outside, the sky was streaked with its first roots of dusk. She could see two little boys chasing a ball that had rolled onto the streets. They waited until a car roared by; then they ran energetically to get their toy.

Hey, baby, how was school? A teasing voice was on the other side. Instantly, Cherrylea frowned.

I would like it if you didn t call me that, she snapped. Her voice was sour. She stared at her wall, silently accusing it for no reason. Did he have to call?

Whoa, whoa, no reason to be upset like Ma was, said the voice. With a sense of growing hate, Cherrylea could just imagine his smirk and she realized why her mother had been so unhappy. So, he said, how was school, baby?

She ignored him, knowing how he loved it when she was irritated. It was great, she replied in a tight voice, though she was being honest. I met some fantastic people. Sadly, though, we have a ton of homework. The tennis team there I met them as well, and they are a bunch of amazing, sweet, kind guys. Especially Ryoma.

Meet anyone special? he taunted.

Yeah with a soft smile, Cherrylea reached out to take a plush pillow shaped like a Japanese cartoon star. She pressed it close to her. I did.

Cool. He sounded like he couldn t care less about what she said; if she had said she had died, he would have replied, Cool. So, anyways, he continued, so did I. I met the absolute perfect lady, and when I get out, I m gonna marry her, no doubt!

Really? she sighed. Look, Mateo, as far as I m concerned, you re not going to do anything unless you get out of - ! Her heart started to pound, and she knew she had crossed a line.

What were you going to say? His voice had done low and dangerous, and she knew he was fighting a temper. She decided not to say anything instead she quickly disconnected the line and slammed the phone down onto the bed.

Resting her head against the board, she waited about a minute before doing anything. Then she stood up, leaving the discarded phone where it was.

888

The teacher, Mr. Takashi, was busy writing an equation on the board with chalk. The piece made small, squeaking noises every now and then. Meanwhile, the students were quietly talking, careful not to ruin his temper. Though he was a great teacher, Mr. Takashi had a short fuse.

Cherrylea was in her seat, doodling on a piece of piece of paper. So far, she had drawn her name in 3-D block letters, a small avatar of herself, a very detailed picture of her necklace, and a picture of a rose. Of course, she hadn t sketched all this at the moment, but she had started in Science.

She heard the classroom door open, and someone slipped in just as the bell rang and the students began to pile back into their seats. The certain person slid into his seat in front of Cherrylea, and she flicked her eyes up to see Ryoma placing his books in the tray underneath the wooden desk. She leaned forward and poked him in the back with her pencil.

He turned around, his face remaining expressionless until he saw who it was. He grinned slightly. What do you want, Cherry?

She smiled back. Can I wear your jacket? she asked. It s cold. She had been perfectly fine until she had stepped out of her house this morning, wearing the girl s uniform with the short sleeved shirt and skirt. And Mr. Takashi didn t help, either he kept his windows wide open. She was starting to shiver.

Aren t you warm in that? he asked, pointing to her clothing with an amused expression.

Uh not really, she replied sheepishly. When she had run into Momoshiro before school had started this morning, she had begged for his jacket. He had grinned crazily and given it to her.

Okay, class, started Mr. Takashi. With a somewhat warm-yet-knowing look, Ryoma turned back around and Cherrylea leaned back in her seat with a soft giggle. Only two weeks, the time she had been in Seishun, and already, she and Ryoma were good friends.

Zipping up Momo s jacket and snuggling deep inside the warmth, Cherrylea turned on her focus for the lesson on dividing and multiplying decimals with fractions.

888

It was chilly outside. The wind was taking on the term, Bone-shattering cold and the people outside were wearing heavy or warm jackets and hats and sweatpants. The trees were beginning to lose their colorful leaves, making themselves bare and ugly.

Kaoru Kaido was one of the few on the tennis courts. Wearing shorts and his tennis jacket zipped up well, he was breathing heavily. Everything left in his mouth had been reduced to a puff cloud that frequently appeared in the frosty air, and he was sweating crazily, but he didn t care.

Dude! called a voice. Kaido looked to the left to see Arai, a fellow teammate, standing by the wire door, ready to leave. You look spent you know it is lunch, and you buy water. Instead of replying, Kaido glared until Arai backed off, leaving him to continue playing against the wall.

He spent another good ten minutes on beating the wall before stopping to take an earned drink. Another figure stepped onto the court, and he thought with irritability, that it was Arai. The figure made its way towards him, and he looked up, scowling when he saw who it was.

Cherrylea had her black hair pushed behind a thin, white headband. Her side bangs fell over her left eye; she was dressed in a large tennis jacket Momo s? and the skirt that all the girls wore. Finally, she had the dress code. For the last two weeks, she had shown up in colorful skinny jeans. She smiled cheerfully when she met his eyes, and he turned away, draining his water bottle. Hey.

He glared at her, trying to scare her off.

But she wasn t backing away; she didn t even blink. She reached down to pick up a tennis ball, and then she bounced it against the court. You can stop that, she said, because no matter how much you glare and growl and scowl, I m just going to smile back. I m not intimidated by you, Kaoru. He didn t show his surprise. Instead, he raised an eyebrow. How come? he muttered, tying back his bandana.

She sighed. Because let s just say that I know this guy who is just like you. She stopped bouncing the ball to roll up Momo s sleeve; she resumed effortlessly.

They stayed in silence for a long moment, time trickling by endlessly. Then Kaido spoke.

Why are you wearing Momo s jacket? he asked. He was curious earlier, he had seen Momoshiro outside, returning from the gym class s run, and he had been rubbing his arms for warmth. When Kaido had asked, Momoshiro had laughed.

Cherrylea smiled. I was cold, she said simply. A breeze blew by, and she shuddered as her loose hair whipped around her face. She gave the ball one more bounce before whipping it at Kaido, but by reflex, he caught it without a thought. You know what? said the girl. I like you. You re not as scary as people think you are. You are really sweet. You re cool.

When Kaido met her gaze, he was surprised to find her eyes shining innocently. She meant what she said. He glanced away, not sure how to respond.

She laughed. You re welcome. Then she stood up on her toes, stretching her arms up. I don t suppose you have any food on you? When he replied no , she sighed and lowered herself back down slowly. Okay. Hey, if you see Momo, tell him thanks,

Sure. Kaido watched her slowly make her way out. Before she could leave, he spoke her name, and she turned. Thanks, he said sincerely.

She winked and then she was gone.

He took in a breath, calling up his stamina. It was time for a run. 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis, but I do own Cherrylea. Read and enjoy and review, please!

When Cherrylea got home, there were two things wrong, ands he sensed them immediately.

The first came upon laying her eyes on a silver Mercedes-Benz, parked in the driveway. Her mother owned a cozy, small Black Hyundai, and she hadn t gone to work today her mother owned a bakery. Cherrylea wracked her brain to remember if she had ever seen this vehicle, but she came up short.

The second was the fact that she was cold. The sun had come out, making the autumn trees more beautiful, but she was still cold. She was dressed in a tight, brown long-sleeved shirt and white skinny jeans. When she had gone to the academy, she had been wearing the usual girl s outfit, but she changed when it was time to go home, because she had to pick up something in Sprinkles and Buttons, the bakery her mother owned. Sadly, Momoshiro had needed his jacket back; otherwise she would have kept it until tomorrow.

She made her way inside the large, auburn colored house, finding it strangely empty. Her mother was nowhere in sight. Cherrylea placed the large bag, with the layered vanilla cake, on top of the counter and she set her Tote bag as well. Then she heard laughter, bubbling up from the backyard. She threaded her way to the back screen door and pulled it open.

On the patio, there was a large drinking table, the kind with the umbrella fastened onto. The umbrella was open, shading the three adults a male and his wife and Cherrylea s own mother from the Sun s emission. There was tall glasses filled with sparkling wine, and the male adult was sipping at his while the two females chit-chatted. Her mother looked up while she was reaching for a platter filled with finger sandwiches, and she smiled. Welcome home, Lea, she said.

Cherrylea walked off of the patio and onto the grass, crossing her arms. Her mother had never mentioned any guests. Before she could reply, however, she was interrupted by a yell. Apple!

The next thing she knew, she was thrown onto the leaf-covered grass, and someone s strong arms wrapped around her waist, squeezing hard. Her back hit the ground, and the person s body was now atop hers . She rolled to one side, untangling herself from the arms, and looked up to see who it was. Her bangs fell over her eyes, and the person reached down to brush them away it was only then that she caught sight of his clear, green eyes.

Jeno! she screamed. She felt ecstatic, and the male grinned back, grabbing her waist again. He had long, blond hair that curled around his ears and smoldering eyes with long, curling lashes. He was wearing a white shirt and low-riding blue jeans. He looked great, as usual.

He squeezed her waist, softer this time, a lot more playfully. Instantly, shivers shot up her body and Cherrylea squirmed, a laugh escaping her lips. Then he flopped down next to her, lying down in the grass, one arm around her body. Where ve you been, Apple? he said in his careless, free voice. He loved using her old nickname it used to be Cherry, but she loved cherries and she hated apples. His shirt rose up a bit, revealing his tight abs.

She moved closer, placing her head against his chest and looking up, her face inches away from his. His breath smelled sweet, like peppermint. They were in front of the old Oak tree, which was showering leaved slowly.

With a content sigh, she replied, Somewhere over the rainbow. Her voice was soft and relaxed, and she closed her eyes, moving closer to bury her face against his neck. She let the soft whispers of the trees and the parents laughter and the steady sound of Jeno s heart beat soothe her.

They lay like that for a good ten minutes. Jeno s parents stood up to move inside dusk was slowly arriving, taking its sweet time. Cherrylea s mother took the empty platter and she winked when she saw her daughter and Jeno. Come inside soon, honey, she said, and then she went inside, closing the door behind her.

Cherrylea moved closer to Jeno, taking all his body warmth into her skin. She then opened her eyes and lifted her head up a bit she was overcome by a feeling of drowsiness, and she realized that she had almost fallen asleep, letting Jeno s wonderful body scent wash over. Her eyes glanced down at him, and he had his hands behind his head, a smile on his lips. His eyes were closed.

Memories flashed into her mind, and Cherrylea s sight started to blur. Embarrassed, she blinked them back. Jeno opened his eyes at her movement.

What s wrong? he asked, easing himself up. She sat up as well, drawing her knees to her chest and resting a cheek against one.

Hey, Jeno, she was staring off into the distance. The back of her T-shirt rose up, revealing a strip of bare skin. Have you have you ever heard of the Seishun Tennis Team? You know, the team with the captain named Kunimitsu Tezuka?

His eyes darkened an old habit when he tried to remember something. Then they lit up as he grinned. Kunimitsu the legendary starter? From Seishun Academy! He laughed. Apple, who hasn t heard of him? That guy is plain brilliant! Why do you ask?

Cherrylea hadn t thought of a response. She shrugged, trying to play innocent. I heard about him downtown today, and at the moment, I thought it would be appropriate to ask.

He nodded once, and then another question crossed his mind. I also heard that a seventh grader is on that team. His father is a name that you might have heard of Nanjiro Echizen? Yeah, he was a sharp player until a tennis warm-up match started to hurt him, and when he was really playing in a match, that injury was brought back up and

Oh! Cherrylea pressed the heel of her hand against her eye, forcing herself to look away. She made sure not to see Jeno s surprised expression.

What s wrong? He edged closer, trying to peer into what she was doing. She pointedly turned away. Hey, what are you doing?

She willed herself with all her might to sound convincing. My eye, she said in a rush, I think something, like, flew into it or whatever. It really hurts.

Let me see, slowly, Jeno eased her hand away from her eye. He leaned closer, gazing into her chocolate brown eyes. Cherrylea looked back at him, trying to keep her expression blank.

I don t see anything, he finally said. Jeno pondered the sudden crisis in his mind another moment more before continuing, As I was saying

Again, he was interrupted. However, this time it wasn t Cherrylea, who was surprised to see Eiji Kikumaru and Shusuke Fuji standing there Eiji looked slightly embarrassed, as if he was interrupting something, and Shusuke was holding a glass of something that looked suspiciously like Sadaharu Inui s strange liquid.

Cherrylea sat back, digging her palms into the grass. She smiled. Well, this is a surprise, she said, ignoring the fact that Jeno looked so confused.

Uh hey, Cherrylea, Eiji replied, reaching up to scratch his hair. He started to spin the racket in his one hand, looking for a way to start talking.

Let me handle this, cut in Shusuke, taking a swig of the liquid. He looked at Cherrylea, while Eiji frowned. Hmm okay, so our team has this one tournament to go to next week. When Kunimitsu told us today, Sakuno and that one friend of hers , the one with the messy ponytails Tomo, though Cherrylea overheard us. Immediately, that one girl wanted to go. She started to jump up and down, begging Ryoma and Kunimitsu to take them with us. Well, we ve decided on one thing that one girl with the pigtails is not going, but Sakuno is. And she wanted you to go.

Cherrylea blinked, clearly impressed Shusuke had answered every question that had popped up into her mind when he had first started talking. She thought for a moment, while Eiji started to hiss under his breath, complaining that he had wanted to be the one to explain.

Jeno poked her in the side. You know them? he asked, his eyes wide.

She nodded and then cleared her throat. Eiji stopped hissing, and Shusuke took another swig from his drink. Sure I d like to go, but how long s the cruise?

Shusuke opened his mouth, but Eiji jumped to exclaim the answer. One week! He grinned victoriously.

That s cool. Cherrylea stood up to give the two a hug.

Shusuke drained his glass and he turned to leave, walking towards the door, which was open, in the white picket fence. Eiji turned back to face Cherrylea and Jeno. Yo, I ll see you later, okay? he said to Cherrylea, and then he raced to catch Shusuke, who was already almost out of sight.

A moment later, they were gone.

Jeno turned his head, staring at her. He had a grin on his face. I can t believe you know them! he cried.

She laughed, but personally to her it sounded forced and fake. Yeah, she replied, staying up. Her eyes darted over at the sky the sun was almost gone, and the streets were starting to get shady. Listen, Jeno, I have a lot of work to do. How about I se you later?

He nodded, but his grin disappeared as he stood up. Sure, Apple. He threw an arm around her shoulders and gave her one quick squeeze before jogging inside. Cherrylea had seen his defeated, hurt look in his eyes. Her eyes began to fill again, and this time, she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. She hated having to lie to her best friend. Jeno always told whatever was on his mind, without a doubt.

She sat down with an exhale, hugging her knees and closing her eyes shut. 


	5. Chapter 5

Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.

Sadaharu was poking Eiji s back repeatedly; talking in the same tone every single his finger touched the other boy.

Eiji hugged his pillow tighter, squeezing his eyes shut. No, he replied sleepily. But Sadaharu kept poking him the back, and it was driving him insane. So Eiji picked up pillow and threw it at Sadaharu.

Sadaharu ducked quickly he had anticipated the move. The pillow sailed across the room and hit Momoshiro in the face. He had just been stretching, waking up from an undisturbed sleep. Now he glared at Eiji, and the older boy was clearly awake. With a growl, Momoshiro scooped up his own pillow and threw it across the room, hard.

Sadaharu had been laughing, grinning at Eiji because he had dodged the move. But he hadn t see the pillow that smacked into his lower back he staggered forward, pitching onto Eiji s bed. With a tiny smirk, Eiji picked up the discarded pillow and lobbed it at Momoshiro, who used a pillow as a bat. The fluffy pillow went flying into Oishi, who caught it before it could make him falter.

Pillow Fight! all four awake males hollered, and they jumped into action. Oishi ducked to avoid pillows being thrown his way; Momoshiro was rapidly firing pillow after pillow, like some crazed machine, and only God knows where he got so many pillows. Eiji was catching pillows and whipping them back at Momoshiro randomly. Sadaharu was trying to anticipate every move, which was not working out for him. In the bed next to him, Shusuke got hit in the calf by three pillows. He fired back blindly, still bleary-eyed from sleep, and one of his pillows smacked Kunimitsu in the torso. Kaido s bed was empty the sheets were fixed, and it was a sign that Kaido was probably outside. Ryoma was leaning back against his headboard, watching with an amused smirk.

The door to the cabin flew open, and Cherrylea stood there, dressed in a white tank-top and white shorts. Her hair was still messy, but she looked wide awake. Momoshiro had thrown one last pillow, and it hit the girl in the lower body. All the Starters whipped their head, interested to catch her reaction. Momoshiro blinked, a sheepish grin spreading across his face. Sorry, he said sheepishly.

Cherrylea let the pillow thump to the ground. She took in a deep breath, closing her eyes and then what seemed like a century, she finally opened them. She then flung her hands into the air, grinning. Get up, boys, she exclaimed, because we re on a cruise!

888

The sun, a half sphere sinking into the horizon of the Earth, was setting, casting its red hue against the waves of the sea. The waved sparkled, softly crashing against one another. Up ahead, in the twilight sky, a pair of birds were squawking and circling around.

Cherrylea was on the top deck, standing against the railing. She was dressed in the same white tank-top and the same white shorts, but she had thrown over a black jacket that was wide open and she had combed her hair down. A smile was stretched out over her face, and she felt like laughing as she tried to peer far, far away, past the horizon. She loved watching sunsets they were both romantic and tragic at the same time, something that really cut deep into her. In a good way.

Sakuno stood next to her, a smile on her face as well as she laughed with Cherrylea. She was dressed cutely in a baby blue T-shirt and a pair of cut-off jeans. Her braids were pinned up, and a hat was pulled over her forehead.

The cruise ship made another slow arch on the sea, and Cherrylea leaned into the railing, turning around to survey the top deck, also known as the deck with the large pool, and the sundeck, which earlier today had had people clad in bikinis and swim trunks, lying on their towels to get a tan. The huge cruise ship had five stories they were on the fifth at the exact moment.

How are you enjoying this cruise, Sakuno? asked Cherrylea, her eyes scanning around the deck for any signs of the boys. Earlier a few minutes ago, they had been horsing around, pushing one another into the pool, but not, they were nowhere in sight.

The other girl laughed, the corners of her eyes crinkling when she smiled back. Are you kidding? she asked, meeting Cherrylea s eyes. This is amazing! I love the cruise I just know that Seishun is going to win tomorrow.

Same here, Cherrylea replied honestly. I can t wait for that. I finally get to see most of the players play - mostly I see, like, Momoshiro and Ryoma, and, oh, sometimes Eiji.

With a little smile, Sakuno let the wind nip her skin as she stretched her arms happily. You don t know what you re missing, Cherrylea.

The sun winked, making the waves sparkle with more intensity. Cherrylea turned away from the sea, shielding her eyes with her hand. She then motioned to Sakuno, who blinked, waiting. Come on, Sakuno, said Cherrylea, it s time to get ready to eat.

The sun sunk deeper, and Sakuno nodded, following the female.

888

Ryoma s eyes shot open, and he let out a long breath. He couldn t sleep, no matter how hard he tried. For at least the last hour he had been lying in his bed, the covers pulled up to his chin, his eyes closed, but the darkness didn t want him tonight.

He sighed and then slowly sat up in bed, trying not to make a sound. If he was lucky, none of the other players would be up, and he could sneak into the Tennis Court on the third story of the cruise ship. He looked around, trying to decipher if anyone was up.

No most of the Seishun players slept like they were dead to the world.

Smirking to himself, Ryoma eased himself out of bed, perfectly fine with the clothes he was wearing: a plaid pajama top and sweatpants. His hair was messy from tossing and turning in bed, and he grabbed his hat, pulling it low over his forehead. Then he took a hold of his racket, which was leaning against his bed, and snuck out of the room, making sure to close the door behind him.

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At last, after roaming around the decks in wonder, Ryoma reached the tennis court.

The empty corridor that led to the court was empty, air-conditioned and soothing. No ball-boys were bustling to and about, and Ryoma was the only walking towards the courts. He whistled to himself, walking carelessly. He had a few hours at the most when he had taken a look at the clock, it had been around eleven o clock. Seishun wouldn t get up until six the next day.

He reached the metal door at the end, pulling it open without any effort. A blast of salty air hit him the court was out on the open deck.

The first thing he noticed when he took step inside the courts was the soft, faint sound of a ball being hit against something. A wall, perhaps. It was going on repeatedly, and he vaguely wondered if maybe a ball-boy had left on one of those tennis machines or something. Surely no one was playing now.

He rounded the corner, his racket carried under one arm. The lighting was sort of dark, but then again, people wouldn t expect someone to be playing tennis at a time like now. But the lights here didn t matter there were large, street-like lamps hanging every now and then, implanted into the ground for late night strollers. The nighttime breeze was pleasant, and Ryoma was glad he had come out of the cabin. It was better to practice for tomorrow instead of trying to get some sleep, no matter what Kunimitsu said.

He wasn t prepared to see who was playing.

A girl with her long, black hair tied tightly behind her, a headband holding it back. A girl who s face was starting to sweat the sweat had plastered the tendrils that escaped her ponytail against the base of her neck. A girl who was hitting a neon blue tennis ball against the wall, her back against the court. She had lightly bronzed skin, but it was enough he already knew who she was.

She was intently striking her racket into the ball, running from side to side to hit it back to the wall. Never once did she fail to hit it back. She had perfect form, the form of a national s player, possibly even a pro.

Finally, her swing missed, and the ball rolled over to Ryoma. He didn t bother to pick it up: instead, all he did was stare at the girl when she turned to retrieve the ball, a smile on her face.

It quickly vanished when she locked gazes with him. Her eyes which were chocolate brown started to widen in fear.

W-what are you doing here, Ryoma? she squeaked. She held her racket close to her, as if she would get attacked. The sea decided to send one wave crashing against the side of the cruise ship.

He tried to regain his composure. Cherry, I think I should be asking you that." 


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Okay, so earlier on in the story, Cherrylea mentions that she s never played tennis before. So then why does Ryoma catch her playing tennis on the cruise ship, around eleven at night and what s her excuse?

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Cherrylea didn t answer Ryoma. She stood, frozen, as if she were fastened to the ground. She felt a bit faint, but she wouldn t confirm that.

A few feet away, Ryoma lifted one eyebrow. What s your reason, Cherry? he asked. It s definitely not typical for a girl who s never played tennis before to be at a tennis court this late with perfect form.

She opened her mouth, her mind swirling with comebacks, but then she closed it again. Why should she argue? It would just be useful to him, and hurtful to herself. She then said, Give me back by tennis ball.

Oh, this? he bent down and picked up the bright blue sphere, tossing it up and down in his hand. I don t know, Cherry you need to answer me first. A smirk appeared on his lips.

A somewhat painful expression clouded over her pretty face, and she half-turned away. Do I really have to, just to get by ball back? she muttered.

He didn t move.

Cherrylea heaved a sigh, and then she spun around, so that her back was facing him. Can we at least go somewhere else?

He nodded, once. Alright.

She started to walk away, and he followed, never more than a pace behind her. They moved away from the dim courts, down the deck, until Cherrylea stopped at by the railing, half-hidden in shadows. She leaned against it, hanging one hand over. Ryoma leaned against the wall of the structure, the one that led to all the shops.

Tell me, he probed. He was guessing that she chose this place most likely because she wouldn t have to face him if she did, her facial expression would be hidden in shadow. Why did you lie?

I didn t lie, she replied.

Uh-huh. So, when I first met you and you said that you had never played tennis, that wasn t a lie, correct?

She ignored him, reaching up to pull her hair loose. It tumbled down her face, framing it with soft curls. I never lied. Well I guess I did. I have played tennis before, a handful of times. I ve even won some small tournaments. Nothing major like the kinds you ve won, but She sighed. I didn t want anyone to know.

Know what? None of the information she had just spouted made any sense, nor was it useful. Ryoma considered giving her back the tennis ball and going to the courts to warm up. Up on the fourth deck came a small tinkle of glasses chinking against one another, followed by a peal of soft laughter.

Cherrylea heaved another sigh. She obviously didn t want to be here, talking about this to him. I didn t want anyone to know that

She then looked over the dark horizon of the calm sea. The moon was grinning at her, hanging in the dark backdrop of the nighttime sky. Ryoma, when I heard exactly who you were, I got scared. For a number of reasons.

He chuckled. Whenever anyone hears my name, they all get a shiver of fear. It s not that concerning to know that you got one as well. You were probably scared because you didn t want to play me.

What? the female exclaimed in reply. She shook her head. No, no, that s not what I meant. I ve played against you, remember? So don t get too cocky. She meant to tease him, but her voice said it half-heartedly. Then she sighed a third time. I was afraid that you d learned the Twist Serve, something that had knocked me down in a long time.

That Twist Serve Ryoma remembered Cherrylea saying that to him, when they had first met. I ve never played tennis against someone like you, but that was the second time I ve ever seen the Twist Serve. It didn t make sense, though. Why did it matter how many times she had seen it? Unless

Have you ever returned a real twist serve? he asked slowly, as if he were afraid of her answer. My twist serve doesn t have all the power, and when I serve with my right hand, it flies towards your face, making it harder to hit. But have you ever actually

Returned a full power one? Yes, I have, cut in Cherrylea, casting her eyes downward. This one time, I was laying against one of the best male tennis players of all time. He had used a twist serve, and I had hit it back, even though it had been flying towards my face. I remember rotating my whole body, back-handing that wicked serve. My racket got a hell of a piece, and I was able to hit back. Unfortunately, the ball flew low, and even though it

Even though it cleared the net, it kept flying low, finished Ryoma. It all made sense now. That ball must have flown towards the guy who you were playing, and it must have slammed into his calf, allowing him a moment of paralysis. He stared, wide-eyed, at Cherrylea s back. You were playing my father, Nanjiro Echizen.

How d you guess? the female murmured. Her heart was pounding, and she closed her eyes, willing herself that this was a nightmare, not the real life.

Ryoma s fingers tightened around the tennis ball. He gritted his teeth. You knew my father, he said, but you didn t bother to tell me? Is that why you were scared, eh, Cherry? You were scared because you thought I recognized you?

She nodded.

Anger was coursing through his veins, and Ryoma was suddenly angry. An angry cry coming from deep inside his throat, he whipped the ball past her head, aiming for the ocean without even processing what he was doing. Her hand instantly shot up and her fingers curled around the spinning ball as she brought it back down, cradling it against her chest.

You re the one who made him end his career! he erupted, his voice full of rage. You decided to give him a shock of paralysis that happens every time he tries to use that Twist Serve! You re the reason he had to end his profession!

Wait just a minute! Cherrylea had whirled around, her eyes round. I don t know what you mean by saying that I ended his career! I had nothing to do with that, with whatever you re dribbling about! Don t blame things on me that I didn t do!

How do I know that you re not lying, Cherry? His mind was whirling now, and Ryoma wished he had never left the cabin. My father said he d ended his career because of a persistent event that happened whenever he used the Twist Serve. I m betting that it s paralysis. I don t get it, Cherry why didn t you tell me?

How could I ever bring myself to tell you about an accident that happened to your father, one of the greatest players of all time? she cried. I can t believe you d be so na ve to blame that garbage on me!

My father s injuries are not garbage! Ryoma roared.

They were so strident that a male waiter with long brown hair, who was serving on the upper deck, leaning over the railing. Yo, can you two keep it down a little? he asked, an amused smirk crossing his lips. There s a private party going on up here.

Keep out of this! both Cherrylea and Ryoma snapped. The waiter held his palms toward them, as if surrendering, and turned back around, disappearing from view.

Then Ryoma turned to face Cherrylea, his gaze harsh. You know, Cherry, I thought you d be someone cool. Someone I could trust, someone that hid no secrets. I guess not, huh? No one ever keeps a secret from someone, especially if that person ends up to be the son of a male s career you ruined!

Cherrylea held her ground, but her eyes were starting to shimmer with tears. I never ruined Nanjiro s career, she replied, her voice nearly a whisper. She looked so innocent. I don t know what you re talking about, but, if that s what you think, then, fine! Be that way, Ryoma, because from here on out, I m officially annoyed and hurt with you! You re horrible! And I hope you lose wickedly tomorrow! She swiped at her tears.

Sorry, but that won t happen, because everyone here knows that I m going to win, retorted the male. No matter how much you deny it, I still know the truth. Cherry, face it you re a pitiable loser. There s no other way to put it.

He then turned, starting to walk away as if nothing had ever happened. As he was in mid-stride, he craned his head around to meet her eyes with his flashing, angry ones. By the way? I know why you were scared. You were scared I was going to beat you, to make you look bad in front of people. He flashed her a sneer and then walked away.

She watched him go, feeling no emotion at all. How could he say all those sentences with overconfidence? Doesn t he care at all? Then, with a feeling of defeat and emptiness, Cherrylea leaned against the railing and closed her eyes. 


	7. Chapter 7

Sakuno flounced down the hallway, passing some doors that were ajar and others that were closed tight. She was happy just a few moments ago, she had run into Ryoma. Even though he hadn t seemed like he was in a good mood, he had talked to her, and it hadn t been a question about directions. Seishun was playing against a really fine team, though the name she failed to remember. Sakuno had just seen Momoshiro play and win, thanks to his Dunk Smash.

She finally reached the door that had the number 256, and she reached into her purse, pulling out a room key that she inserted through the lock. Then she turned the knob and stepped into the cabin.

She was surprised to find Cherrylea, lying in her bed, with the covers pulled up to her chest, despite the fact that it was ten-thirty in the morning. The girl was dressed in a tight gray tank-top and tiny, black shorts. Her black hair was messy, and she looked bleary-eyed. When Sakuno entered, she looked up and then muttered, Hey.

Hey, sleepy-head. Sakuno had decided not to let Cherrylea s dreary mood affect her. With a big smile, she tossed her purse onto her bed the covers and pillows were arranged neatly, unlike Cherrylea s and then grabbed a hold of the hair brush that was at the desk. She sat at Cherrylea s bed, pulling the other girl up to a sitting position. Have you decided to stop sulking and start cheering for Seishun?

No, the other female replied. She flopped back down against the pillows.

With a soft exhale through her nose, Sakuno set the brush in her lap and pulled Cherrylea up, again, into a sitting position. She then started to pull the brush through her tangled, black locks. What s wrong? she asked sincerely. You ve been sulking ever since I got up. Are you not feeling well? We still have six days, including today, to get through for this cruise. I hope you aren t feeling ill I can t stand sickness. Maybe you re bored. I got bored a little yesterday, but that was the first day and I she stopped to take in a breath.

Cherrylea allowed a hint of a smile, but she then sighed. No, Sakuno, I m feeling fine and healthy. It s just that she hesitated.

Sakuno lightly pulled the comb through another tangle, holding the lock of thick, black hair in place as she started to work out the knot. It s just what? she asked.

A spark of pain flashed through her scalp when Sakuno finally tugged through the knot. Okay, Cherrylea decided, I ll tell you you re sweet and nice and trusting. Sakuno, last night, I kind of snuck out when you fell asleep, but she ignored the evil eye Sakuno sent her way I had gone to play some late-night tennis. While I was there, I ran into Ryoma. We had a little talk, and let s just say that he got angry at me, and I got angry at him, and we both said some really hurtful things, and now we re not friends anymore. She forced the pained expression away from her eyes.

Sakuno clucked her tongue. Ryoma can be such a downer, she sympathized. Then she wrapped her arms around Cherrylea, hugging her tightly, so tightly that she could smell her honeysuckle scent. Oh, Cherrylea, she said softly, Ryoma is stupid to not realize that you re an awesome friend. I mean, even Kaoru has warmed up to you, and he s, like, the Viper. But you re amazing, Cherrylea, you really are.

As much as Cherrylea had been forcing her tears away, they sprung up again as Sakuno talked. She smiled a bit, wiping them away. Thanks, Sakuno that means a lot. She then pushed the covers away, stretching her arms up just as Sakuno finished her hair, which fell down her shoulders, fine and silky. Now I m going to get up and have some brunch and take a shower and get dressed and then let s go see how Seishun is doing! The two girls laughed.

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Game and set. Seishun Academy wins, 6-2!

Ryoma Echizen shook hands with his opponent and then walked over to the bench, carrying his racket under one arm. He had barely broken out into a sweat while playing, but he had to give the other guy credit for winning two against him.

You re really good, his opponent gasped between breaths.

Or maybe you re lame, Ryoma commented. When his opponent s eyes narrowed, he laughed and replied, I m kidding, I m kidding.

All of Seishun s tennis members congratulated him for winning he had pretty much sealed the fate of the third game, third out of five. So far, Seishun had won both doubles and the no. 3 singles match, so even if the other team won both the next to singles, Seishun would win. He clapped a high-five with Momoshiro, and then sat on the bench, taking the towel Shuichiro offered him.

Hey, Grandma!

He looked up to see Sakuno running over to Coach Ryuzaki, her grandmother. She asked how Seishun was holding up, and Coach Ryuzaki grinned as she answered. But Ryoma s eyes weren t on the girl with the pig-tails.

His gaze was on Cherrylea, who was standing next to Sakuno.

Cherrylea had on a tight, button down white top, the top two buttons undone to show a bit of skin. She also had on tight, blood-red jeans and tall, black boots. She had a red headband in her black hair, and bright red lipstick coated her wide, full lips. In detail, she looked calm and happy, as if she had completely forgotten what had happened last night.

And she also looked really delicious, surprisingly to Ryoma.

He shook his head, forcing that thought out from his mind. He didn t have time for girls right now, especially not Cherrylea, the one girl that ruined his father s career. He decided to focus on Shusuke, who was crushing his opponent on the tennis court.

Unfortunately, Kaido was sitting next to him, and Cherrylea had chosen this moment to walk over and greet him a good morning. As she approached, Ryoma sunk in his seat, pulling his white cap low over his forehead.

What s up, Kaoru? smiled Cherrylea, pointedly ignoring the male next to him. She bent down, lacing up the side of her black boots. Have you played yet?

I m on reserve, he replied, the usual ornery tone in his voice gone. If anyone else had asked him about the games, he would have snapped his answer, but not with Cherrylea. She had that kind of charm, Ryoma noticed.

Her smile widened into a grin, and her chocolate eyes sparkled. Hey, that just means that you re pretty awesome, Kaoru, she complimented, never missing a beat.

Yo, Cherry, where have you been? Momoshiro had just noticed her, and he was grinning. You missed my game earlier, girl!

Aw, I did? a sad, innocent look crossed her face, and she walked past Ryoma. He got a good whiff of her perfume, all citrusy and fruity. Disgusted with himself, he stood up and placed his racket in his seat.

And where are you going? Coach Ryuzaki asked, raising an eyebrow. Sakuno had turned to face him as well.

I m going to get a drink, he said, trying not to act suspicious.

She nodded once, giving him permission. He glanced over his shoulder to see Cherrylea, laughing with Momoshiro and Eiji and Shuichiro. Idiots, he thought, you re just playing into her hand.

With a sigh, he walked away. 


	8. Chapter 8

It was the fourth day of the cruise, and Cherrylea was feeling fine.

It was thirty minutes until midnight, but all the people from Seishun were on the fourth deck, in the recreation center. There was a party going on Justin Beiber was playing, his beat to his music pounding, the lights were flashing different colors, the DJ was spinning his stuff, and it was nice. It was a night that Cherrylea could get out, have some fun, and look good while doing it.

Earlier, she had been in the cabin she and Sakuno shared, reading a book called, The Outsiders . She had been heavily engaged, not thinking about anything but the trusting story, until Sakuno had opened the door and walked in. The girl had announced that a party was going to start, and she asked if Cherrylea wanted to come.

So now Cherrylea was dressed in a strapless bright red dress that clung to her body and shimmered around her calves like water. Her black hair was curled and loose, falling around her shoulders. She had on red lipstick and mascara that curled her long lashes, and she had slipped into red heels under Sakuno s request, when the girl had seen Cherrylea s first choice: tall, black leather boots.

When the song ended, she stood where she was, taking in breaths and glancing around. Her eyes landed on Eiji and he winked, grinning at her. She smiled back, and then continued glancing around the room.

Her eyes then froze on Ryoma, who was in a black tux. He had a red hat pulled over his hair, and he was talking to Shuichiro. He felt her gaze, and Ryoma turned her way. They locked eyes for a moment, and he sent her possibly the World s Coldest Glare ever.

With a small shiver, she turned away. But she couldn t help feeling a sense of sadness. He was still mad at her? It s been three days. The male she had been dancing with looked down, asking what was wrong. She waved it off, thanking him for the dance, and then she walked over to the drinks table, looking for a glass of Diet 7up, or something to cool her nerves. She didn t know if it was just her, but it was starting to feel a little warm in the center.

She finally spotted a tall glass filled with Diet 7up, and she grabbed it, gulping down every last drop. Sakuno joined her, her face flushed and a smile on her pretty face. She had on a baby blue blouse and dressy jeans. Her normally braided hair was framing her face in tight waves. Sakuno reached for a glass of sparkling water, taking a small but hungry sip. Are you enjoying yourself? she asked.

With a nod and smile, Cherrylea replied, It s much better than reading at least for tonight, that is!

Sakuno then leaned in closer, so she could whisper into Cherrylea s ear. Has Ryoma said anything to you?

Cherrylea felt the smile slide off of her face, but it wasn t Sakuno s fault. She was glad Sakuno was looking out for her. No thank God, though, I m glad he hasn t.

Well, I m glad you re enjoying yourself. I m having a great time myself. Hearing her name, Sakuno turned her head a little and waved to a group of girls. I m going to go join them. Is that okay?

Yeah, replied Cherrylea honestly, I was going to outside to, like, just breathe for a few minutes. Have fun.

You too! exclaimed Sakuno as one of the girls came over to drag her away.

With a small sigh, Cherrylea weaved her body through the other dancing ones and finally made it outside. She began to walk, trying to get as far away as she could from the pounding beat of Trey Songz. Finally, when she was far enough, she leaned against the railing and looked down into the sea. The moon was pure white, shining with some sort of mysterious power. It sort of unnerved her, but she paid it no attention.

Something brushed against her, and she took a step to the side, twisting her head to see who it was. A male in a pressed down white shirt with a green tie and black jeans with stringy, dark hair stood there. He was texting on his cell, but he looked up.

Sorry, he apologized with a half-grin, I wasn t looking where I was going. I didn t see you there.

Not many people do, murmured Cherrylea.

Hmm? he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She turned her gaze back to the sea. Never mind it s okay, you didn t bump against me hard. Don t worry. Then she noticed something. I ve seen you somewhere before?

Hajime, ninth grade, St. Rudolph. He extended a hand that had a leather band around his slim wrist. And you are?

I m Cherrylea, seventh grade, at Seishun Academy, she replied, taking his hand and then glancing away. She wasn t in the mood to talk anymore, and her head was pounding. She was slowly getting a headache.

A smile formed on his lips. Really? I thought a pretty girl like you would be a little bit older- and I m usually never wrong, he complimented.

She thanked him half-heartedly, though a blush rose on her cheeks.

Wait he said, you re from Seishun, huh? I remember earlier this year, our tennis team oh, no, thought Cherrylea, I know where this is going had to face up against Seishun. And since you re in seventh grade you know Ryoma Echizen, don t you?

Her heart skipped a beat, and startled, she placed her free hand against her chest, avoiding Hajime s eyes. Actually, I do know him, but we re not so tight. He s just

Cocky? Infuriating? A little brat? offered Hajime.

A laugh escaped her lips, and Cherrylea glanced sideways at him. No I was thinking more of overconfident and smug, but thanks for the adjectives.

He laughed and then looked down to text a reply on his cell. Cherrylea I love the name. I ll see you around, all right?

She smiled. Sure, Hajime anytime.

He grinned, raising his hand, which still held her own, and kissed it gently. Cherrylea felt her cheeks warm again, and he chuckled, letting go of her hand. See you around, he said again and then wandered off.

Suddenly bored and empty, Cherrylea reached into her sequined purse and pulled out a slim iPod, the color of emeralds. She plugged the ear buds into her ears, and then silently listened to the words to, Runaway Baby by Bruno Mars. Not even his sweet voice and the message of his song to get her to smile.

She just needed to breathe.

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Momoshiro leaped up. An excited cry escaped his lips as he slammed his racket down into the tennis ball.

Boom, he grinned.

He expected Ryoma to reply with something cocky, but instead, Momoshiro watched the tennis ball clear the net and spiral past Ryoma, who made no move whatsoever to get it.

Dude! Momoshiro jogged up to the net, holding his racket behind his head with both arms. Echizen are you okay? What s wrong with you? You could ve gotten that easily!

The seventh grader shrugged slightly, giving his collar shirt one tug before picking up the discarded ball. Momo, I m not really in the mood to play.

What? Momoshiro pretended to choke. The great Ryoma Echizen, not wanting to play against the even greater Momoshiro?

The tennis ball hit the side of his head. Irritated, Momoshiro rubbed his head and shot daggers with his eyes at Ryoma, who shot him an amused smirk.

Another male joined the two on the court. Kunimitsu Tezuka stood there, dressed in a black T-shirt and baggy, black shorts. He raised an eyebrow at Ryoma as he grabbed his tennis bag and dug out a racket. Why aren t you in the mood? he asked.

Does it matter? replied Ryoma calmly.

It does. I asked you.

What if I don t want to answer?

You don t really have a choice.

Ryoma chose to ignore his captain, even though now both Momoshiro and Kunimitsu were shooting daggers with their eyes at him.

Personally, Ryoma thought to himself as he picked up his tennis bag and walked off the court, he would be glad to get off the cruise. It was the sixth day, which meant that there was only today and tomorrow to get through before he could finally get back to Seishun and pay no heed to Cherrylea. Everywhere he went; either Sakuno or Cherrylea would be there to remind him about the fight. It was so aggravating.

He stopped by a water fountain inside the dome and let the cool liquid calm his nerves.

He couldn t wait to get off. 


	9. Chapter 9

Oooh, a door. Let s open it. She reached for the door knob, which was made from swirling red rubies. It was so compelling and she couldn t resist the urge. She tried to wrap her fingers around the knob, but it repulsed her, making her fingers jerk violently. Annoyed, she tried again, darting her hand out faster.

Her fingers closed around the knob, and she twisted it open, taking a confident step forward. Her foot met air, and she began to fall through the darkness. She tried to scream, but it died in her throat. Her hands and feet shot out to grab something, anything, but all they closed around was darkness.

Cherrylea, wake up Cherrylea, c mon, wake up

Hmm... Cherrylea mumbled sleepily, turning onto her side and curling her body inwards for warmth. The air was starting to get bitter cold, and she wished she had a blanket. Cool fingers pushed against her bare shoulder.

Her eyes shot open, and she glimpsed around, pulling out the ear buds that were connected into her ears.

Sakuno was crouching next to her, a concerned expression on her face. She smiled when her eyes met Cherrylea s. Finally, you re up! she said, straightening up and stretching her arms upward. She had on a sweater and jeans. Cherrylea, are you going to stay here longer? You look cold.

I what? confused, the other female glanced down at herself and then sighed. She was dressed in a white bikini, because earlier, she had been sun tanning. She must ve fallen asleep. I ll stay here a little longer, but first I ll need to go get a jacket

Sakuno held out a slim, back jacket that Cherrylea recognized. Here I figured you might need this, she said.

A grateful smile on her face, Cherrylea thanked her and pulled on the jacket. Then she reached for her ear buds. Yeah, I ll come in later, so you can go on in and get yourself some sleep. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced down and looked at her iPod screen. 10:53 p.m.

Okay, but don t freeze to death out here. And if you leave anything onboard, remember that today is our last day on the cruise. With a yawn, Sakuno stood up and then waved goodnight, heading for the cabins.

Where we stop, nobody knows knows Far East Movement s voice faded off, finishing the last of Rocketeer . Cherrylea turned off her iPod, slipping it into one of her jacket s pockets and then she stood up in her high-heeled black flip flops. The deck below was lively she was on the top deck, and the fourth deck seemed to have a late, outdoor party going on at the moment. She walked around a little, tugging the jacket closer to her body.

She turned around one corner, heading for the one spot on the cruise ship that had the best view and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who else was there, standing by the railing.

Ryoma.

He seemed to have sensed her presence, and he glanced over his shoulder, raised an eyebrow, and then flicked his eyes away. Can t sleep, princess?

You know I hate that, she shot, feeling the pit of her stomach fire up. Was he going to tease her? If he was, she would just leave. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest. Why are you here, anyway?

Why are you dressed like that? he calmly replied. I don t think the sun is out, Cherry, so any plans of sun tanning won t help you now. Go put on some sense-making clothes.

Despite how annoyed she felt, Cherrylea let the smirk spread over her glossy lips. Does it bother you to see me dressed like that?

That question seemed to catch Ryoma off guard his face turned slightly red, and he stammered a bit as he retorted, No, I m perfectly fine seeing girls who think the sun is out when it s around midnight.

She hissed out her breath from between clenched teeth, and then reached up to push back her hair. Can t you just answer my question? she sighed. Why are you out here?

I wanted to see the sea once more, he replied, and it took her a moment to decide whether he was joking or not. She had never seen him this serious.

Can I join you? she asked cautiously, and the second it flew out from her mouth, she regretted it.

He chuckled under his breath, the sound humorless. Cherry, I don t think I want the person who ruined my father s career right next to me.

She couldn t help herself. I never ended his career! she cried, and her voice was angry. Why are you so damn stubborn, Ryoma? Why can t you just listen to me for once? I never ended your father s career, so stop blaming me!

He didn t twitch; he kept staring off into the dark horizon. The nighttime sky was moonless, and there were dark clouds blotting the sky everywhere. You told me that when you played him, he got moment of paralysis. Because the ball you returned hit too low. Can you explain why he keeps getting paralysis even now, and that was why he had to end his career.

Before she could blurt something out again, Cherrylea caught herself and then muttered to herself, Am I actually about to go through this?

Then, with a deep breath to calm her nerves, she said, I didn t tell you all of what happened.

What? Ryoma seemed to choke on that single word. He turned to face her, and his eyes were wild, almost as if they were begging her not to tell him. You didn t tell me what really happened?

She shook her head.

He recollected himself, and then leaned his back against the railing. Fine tell me right now.

She turned her gaze away, so she wouldn t have to face him, and she slowly walked up to the railing, to stand next to him.

You want to know? Then I ll tell you.

Okay, so I was preparing for a girl s tennis tournament, a junior one. I wanted to make sure that no one got in my way, so I had been asking Nanjiro to help me out with my reflexes, with my timing, with my power, and with my accuracy. He agreed, and so that night, he decided to try out the Twist Serve. With a grin, he warned me that the monster was approaching , and I had laughed, telling him to give me what he got. With a cry, he had hit that wild shot and I had reacted by swinging my racket too early, by rotating my body to give the return shot a hell of a slam. Instead of my racket s sweet spot, I got the tennis ball against the edge.

So the ball cleared the net, and yes, as you said a few days ago, it slammed into his calf. I actually thought that it wouldn t be much, because the ball had hit the upper part of his calf instead of the middle, or the bone. So I asked if he was okay. Nanjiro stood there, frozen, still clenching the racket, ready to hit.

I remember being so scared. I ran over, tried to get him to move. He was breathing his chest was moving up and down, and he was blinking. Finally he strained out a sentence, and then raised a hand to tell me he was okay. Or so he thought, because when he tried to take a step, he couldn t move at all.

Luckily, my brother had decided to drop in on us at the moment. I quickly explained what happened, and he whipped out his cell, calling the hospital faster than you could bat an eyelash. Then he helped both me and Nanjiro to his car, and drove off.

She seized a breath, and Ryoma noticed with surprise that it was shaky. He tried to catch her expression, but shadows had fallen over her face. She was hidden from view. She took in another shuddering breath and then continued,

When Mateo finally got us to the hospital, he carried your father out on his back he was pretty strong for a teenager at the time. We made it to the front desk, and the nurse there glanced up. As she spoke, she had a sense of amusement in her voice. She told us that the hospital was not open at such late hours. I remember Mateo firing back, It s only around midnight, and this gentleman here has just undergone some paralysis. So maybe you should shut up and take him. The nurse looked horrified, and she started to ring security when she caught a look at the patient s face. It is funny how many people knew who your dad was at the time, Ryoma.

She instantly apologized and took care of your father, telling us to wait in the lobby. I sat down in the waiting room I ve always hated waiting rooms. They play calm, elevator-like music to calm you down, but all it does to me is drive me insane. Mateo sat next to me, taking a sports magazine and flipping through it, while I sat there, my tennis racket in my left hand, and I silently prayed he would be all right.

The next thing I know, I m being woken up by Mateo, who is gently shaking my shoulder. He explains that Nanjiro wanted to see us. I asked what time it was, and I found out that I had slept for thirteen hours in that same spot. My back was killing me, and my leg muscles were aching. We walked to the room where your father was, and he smiled when he saw me, telling me that the dark circles under my eyes weren t necessary. He would be alright, he said happily, because the paralysis wouldn t affect him. It had only been a bit of shock, since the tennis ball had nearly smacked a vein that he had accidentally affected long ago. The doctor told him that he would be out of the hospital by evening. What he didn t tell us was that he was going to play a tennis tournament the very next day.

Cherrylea looked to see Ryoma s reaction, but all he did was blink expectantly at her, waiting for her to continue. This was obviously news to him.

He breezed through the first match, and the second, but when he got to the third, he found himself facing one of his rivals. So Nanjiro wanted to use the Twist Serve. He served the ball, and it went spiraling towards the opponent, who hit it back. But the problem was that Nanjiro couldn t move his leg at all he was frozen, affected by paralysis again. He had to end his career then.

Oh. muttered Ryoma, rubbing his chin. No wonder I don t remember all this, because I had been on a trip with my mother.

Exactly. Cherrylea looked up to meet his gaze, and he was startled to find that there were tears shining in her eyes. Now do you get what went down that night? It wasn t my fault that I ended Nanjiro s career all I wanted was some honest practicing before the tournament. I had no clue that a reflex shot would harm him so much. I knew your father, yeah, and I kept it hidden from you, but for a good reason. I didn t want to tell you what happened! I didn t want you to know that I was a part of it!

He considered her words carefully, and then held her gaze, trying to find anything that should make him suspicious. But her eyes were shining with unshed tears, and they were unfathomable, lucid, and truthful. She meant every word she had just said, the confession and the outburst. With a sigh, he slowly lifted his arm and then slung it over her shoulder, pulling her close to his body. I believe you, he said coolly, even though in the dark his face was reddening. I should have never yelled. Sorry.

You should be, cracked Cherrylea, wiping away at a tear, embarrassed. She felt warmer both in her heart and on her skin.

Then Ryoma remembered something. Reaching with his free hand, he rummaged around in the pockets of his sweatpants. Cherry I forgot completely. He then emerged his hand from his pocket. When we first met, you said something about this. Well, I did some searching around my house, and turns out, my dad had this in his room.

Huh? Intrigued by his words, she curiously peered at the object that dangled from his closed fist. Oh my gosh!

Dangling from a silver chain was a sphere, about the size of a marble, made from pure gold. In the middle of the golden nugget was an even tinier sphere, made from ruby and sapphire, whose colors swirled and intertwined together. She looked at him, and he had a smirk on his face.

Thank you so much I can t believe you remembered that! she cried, throwing her arms around him and hugging him hard.

Turn around, he ordered. She turned to face the ocean. Then he looped the necklace around her neck, securing the clasp on the back. When he was done, she fingered the charm, catching his gaze with a smile. There, he murmured.

Thanks, Ryoma. With a small, happy sigh, Cherrylea leaned her head against his shoulder, staring up into the nighttime sky.

A/N: What do you think? I hope that didn t make anyone cry or anything. Either way, please enjoy the next chapter and review! 


	10. Chapter 10

"Read this."

Eiji Kikumaru shoved the flyer in front of the book Cherrylea was reading. "Um…sure," she mumbled, turning her eyes to look at the bright colored flyer with all the big, bold words. She tried focusing on the first line, but for some reason, the words blurred. She blinked a few times, but that didn't help.

"Sorry," she replied, "but first, I'd rather read something at the moment that's a _lot _less colorful. Thanks to the brightness, it's making my eyes bleary. I can't read the words." She handed it back to Eiji with a smug grin.

"Aw – I wanted to see if you knew how to read anything that's _not _in black or white," the upperclassman complained.

Feeling irritated, Cherrylea stuck a finger into her book to hold her place and closed the cover, showing the colorful picture of a sparkling diamond. "_Flurry Crystals__," _she read, and then met Eiji's eyes. "See, I can read just _fine _with all the color!"

He laughed and then turned to look out the window, trying to entertain himself.

Along with all of the Seishun starters and Sakuno, Cherrylea was on a private, black bus that was taking them back to Seishun Academy. About an hour ago, they all had gotten off the lovely cruise ship. Cherrylea made sure to take one, last look at the sea, where the bright, fiery ball was rising over the horizon of the sparkling sea.

Now, she was sitting next to Sakuno. She had let her borrow her iPod, and the pig-tailed girl was exploring the wonderful voice of Drake, her head tilted slightly towards the tinted window as she glanced at the passing buildings and shops and houses. Cherrylea herself was reading "_Flurry Crystals,"_ a book that Jeno had left for her. The book was simply wonderful, with the main character, Reina, is forced to be a cold-blooded assassin, killing people that she loves and trusts, but when she meets a certain man, then –

"What'cha reading?" Eiji's head, yet again, popped up in the seat behind her, peeking over to attempt reading a sentence in the book.

"Would you get outta here?" Annoyed, Cherrylea slapped him lightly on the head with her book. A cheerful laugh bubbling from his lips, he flashed a grin and popped back down. Sitting next to him, Shuichiro mouthed, "Sorry," a sheepish grin on his face.

Turning back around with a small laugh, Cherrylea opened her book back up and tried to focus on the literature. For some reason, though, the words seemed to shrink into the page, the ink becoming liquid again and knitting with each other, making it impossible for her chocolate eyes to even read a single word.

Her head began to spin, and it suddenly became hard to see the floating, drifting words. She closed her eyes tightly, shutting her book. _Perhaps, _she thought, _this is all because I didn't get, like, any sleep at all last night, thinking about Ryoma and my necklace and Nanjiro and Mateo. It's just over delayed shock. _She pressed her head into the soft, cushiony seat, trying not to fall asleep –

She jumped when she felt a cool hand against her forehead. Kunimitsu Tezuka stood there, in the aisle way, his brown eyes staid behind his glasses. "Do you feel all right?" he asked.

The way he said it, it didn't sound much of a question, but Cherrylea ignored that. "Yes, I'm fine." She recollected herself, forcing a bright smile onto her lips. "What's up, Captain?"

Obviously, he wasn't her captain at all, but she enjoyed calling him that instead of "Kunimitsu" or "Tezuka" or something like that. Without a hint of a smile breaking out on his face – which unnerved Cherrylea – he replied, "We've arrived back at Seishun."

"Just thought you'd want to wake up!" Across the aisle way and sitting aside from Kaoru, Momoshiro leaned over and poked her on the cheek.

"Really?" Now Cherrylea felt a bit ashamed as she glanced out the window. It was true –they _had _arrived, and the bus was starting to empty. "Oh, thanks, Captain."

He nodded and then walked back to the front of the bus.

Sakuno handed the iPod back. "That's really cool!" she complimented happily. "Especially that one singer…Rihanna or something like that. If I could ever buy one, I would. Do they come in different colors?"

"All sorts," Cherrylea reassured with a smile on her face as she wrapped the ear buds around the slim device. "There's blue, pink, red, green, purple…I could go on all day! But I wanted gray, just in case the other colors wore off quickly. My friend Jeno has a blue one, but the color came off a month later."

Momoshiro stood up to get his large, duffel bag. "Oh, Momo?" asked Cherrylea, gazing up at him with her chocolate brown eyes wide, "do you mind getting mine and Sakuno's as well?"

"Sure," he grinned, "because I _know _you're too lazy to get up yourself and grab it."

She decided against playfully punching his stomach, and nodded with a wink. "You know it." He sighed and reached for both her bright purple suitcase with the strap and Sakuno's baby blue one, handing the two objects down. "Thank you, Momo," Cherrylea said in her sweetest voice, and he shot a grin her way as he walked towards the front of the bus, ready to get off.

Eiji leaned over the seat and wrapped his finger around one of Cherrylea's stray strands of dark hair. She looked up and swatted his arm away. "What's up, kitty Kikumaru?" she scolded playfully. "You've been all over me since this morning."

"Let's just say that I saw a few things last night between you and the little guy," Eiji replied mysteriously. His eyes drifted towards the front of the bus where Ryoma was getting off. With a small laugh, Eiji raced forward, down the aisle way.

"Ignore him," smiled Shuichiro. "See you around, Cherrylea. You too, Sakuno." He followed Eiji down.

With an annoyed sigh, Kaoru stood up from his seat to follow his upperclassmen.

"So," said Sakuno as she checked her bag to make sure everything was there. "How are you going to get home?" All of Seishun's tennis players were off the bus, and the only ones remaining were the two females and the driver. Cherrylea stood up to let Sakuno out.

"Me? Oh, I don't know – I'll try to catch a ride with Ryoma, because I haven't seen Nanjiro in awhile. But if that's not possible, I'll make my way to _Sprinkles&Buttons." _When Sakuno gave her a quizzical look, Cherrylea explained, "My mother owns that shop."

"Oh! You know," exclaimed the pig-tailed female as she stepped off of the bus, thanking the driver, "Momoshiro goes there almost every weekend."

Cherrylea laughed. "I know. My mother's been telling me that a Seishun tennis player with spiky hair and sideburns and a huge appetite has been arriving daily. I instantly knew who it was." She stepped off the bus, and the instant her feet touched the pavement, the bus roared to life and sped away, the wheels screeching.

"I'm probably going to go with my grandmother."

"Oy – I keep forgetting that Coach Ryuzaki is your grandmother." When Cherrylea said that, someone called Sakuno's name: Coach Ryuzaki. The woman was standing next to Shusuke Fuji Kunimitsu, undoubtedly telling them something about the cruise and the overseas tournament.

With a small sigh, Sakuno gave Cherrylea a farewell hug. "I'll see you sometime, Cherrylea." Then, her suitcase rolling behind her, she jogged over to her grandmother.

Cherrylea hoisted the shoulder strap of her suitcase over her body, standing on her tip-toes as she looked for the familiar ruffled hair of – "Ryoma!"

He took a quick look over his shoulder and stopped as she approached him. "Cherry."

"Yeah. Hey." She couldn't help feeling a little awkward. "Is Nanjiro coming to get you?"

He shook his head. "No, Momo and I are going to play some street tennis with a couple of guys from Fudomine." He was silent for a minute before saying, "Do you have a ride?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, I was hoping to catch a ride with you so I could catch up with" –

"Lea!"

The two seventh-graders turned at the sound of the call. When Cherrylea saw who it was, her eyes widened and all the blood seemed to drain out from her face. Her face began to heat up, and suddenly, she felt sick, as if she should just genuflect over and vomit.

Leaning against a parked, shiny red Ferrari stood a handsome male in his early twenties. He had long, careless dark blond hair with black roots that flopped over his chocolate brown eyes in a way that was extremely adorable to almost every young female except Cherrylea. His skin was a perfect tan, and he was wearing a white open-necked shirt with low-rise blue jeans that hugged his perfectly sculpted legs and black, leather shoes and a leather necklace. "Lea!" he called again, an easy grin spreading over his face.

Ryoma glanced to see Cherrylea, and when he caught her expression, he murmured, "You don't seem very happy to see him."

"Why should I?" Cherrylea dropped her suitcase to the pavement and began to dig through it, pulling out a pair of black rollerblades. A chuckle – a humorless sound – escaped her lips. "That's Mateo, someone that I really don't need to see at the moment."

"What's the hold-up?" Joining the two was Momoshiro, pulling his bike along with him. He grinned when he saw Cherrylea. "Yo, Cherrylea, do you care to join our little trip to play some street tennis?"

"Sorry." The single word was cold, and Momoshiro's grin faltered a bit. The female took off her bright colored sneakers and pulled on the rollerblades. "I was just leaving." She stood up, momentarily discarding her open suitcase on the pavement.

Tightly gripped in her left hand was a neon purple tennis racket.

"Hey, Lea, you wanna go drive around a little?" asked the male. "We have a lot to talk about."

"Shut up!" Ryoma watched, in shocked amazement, as Cherrylea bounced a tennis ball once against the pavement and then tossed it high up into the air. _Is she serving, _he thought. Cherrylea then jumped and back-handedly lashed her racket against the ball. It recoiled hard with the pavement, and then blasted up to slam into the male's jaw. His head reeled backwards, as if he had been slapped by an invisible hand.

"Was that the…?" Momoshiro mumbled.

"Yeah," confirmed Ryoma, "a homemade version of the Twist Serve."

The male staggered against the hood of the car, a hand pressed to his jaw. He rubbed it hard and then glared at Cherrylea, swearing out loud. "Get the hell back here, Lea!" he roared.

She bent down and threw her racket into her suitcase, zipping it up with lightning speed. When she straightened up, the suitcase was slung over one shoulder. She leaned forward, placing her weight on her left foot, and peered over her shoulder. "Catch ya later, Momoshiro. Ryoma." Then she shot off on her rollerblades, leaving them behind.


	11. Chapter 11

"Where is she?"

Fantina Kai was frantic. She was standing right by the front door, her face against the window as she peered outside. The streets were dark, and the sky was black, with the twinkling stars starting to come out. The streetlamps were beginning to flicker on, casting shadows onto the gloomy streets. A few people had been outside, so far, but not a single one had been carrying a purple suitcase.

Fantina had come home about three hours ago, a smile on her pretty face. She couldn't wait to tell her daughter the great news about _Sprinkles&Buttons. _A world-wide chef had stopped in the shop today with his wife, and when he had tried the featured bowl, Molten Cake Crème, he'd fallen in love with the taste. He promised to come again next week with some of his crew to learn the recipe. Fantina wanted to tell her daughter about that, because Molten Cake Crème was originally the girl's idea.

When she had gotten home, a smile on her face, smelling like sugar and chocolate and vanilla, she had seen a red Ferrari parked in the driveway. Ignoring her feeling of dread, as she unlocked the door, Fantina found her twenty-two year old son sitting in the living room, reading the newspaper. Personally, she wasn't all that excited to see him, but she couldn't wait to see her daughter. When she asked him where she had went, he had replied,

"She served a tennis ball at me and then sped off."

Her son had upturning his head so that Fantina could see the dark bruise, in the shape of a tennis ball imprinted on his jaw. Her heart had started to race, and she shrugged, saying that her daughter would come back soon.

It's been three hours, and still no sign of the seventh-grader. The time was _9:45 p.m._

"Mateo – give me my cell phone!" Fantina called. She tried to keep the creeping panic from her voice.

"Here." She turned and Mateo, dressed comfortably in a loose black T-shirt and baggy black sweatpants, handed the red piece of metal into her hand. He then jogged over to the basement door, opened it, and disappeared before she could thank him. Not that she wanted to.

Flipping open the cell but never taking her eyes off the dark streets, Fantina dialed a number that she almost knew by heart. She then held the metal to one ear, with its dangling diamond hoops, and listened to the rings.

"Hello?" muttered a masculine voice, one that sounded like it was in the middle of something very important.

"Nanjiro? Is that you? This is Fantina Kai."

Instantly, the tone of the voice changed, and the person on the other end laughed. "Fantina – what a pleasure! How's everything going on your side?"

She didn't want to be rude, but she wasn't really in the mood to have a casual conversation. "Everything's great here, Nanjiro, thanks. I have to ask you a question. Is Cherrylea over at your place? Possibly playing tennis with either you or your son, I hope."

Now Nanjiro sounded a bit apologetic. "Actually, no – Lea's not over here."

"She's not there?" AS much as Fantina tried to keep the panic away, some crept into her voice and her head began to slowly spin around. "Oh, lord, this is not good…well, is your son there? Can I speak to him?"

"Sure, yeah, hold on," Nanjiro covered the mouthpiece with one hand, so that Fantina didn't hear anything, and then hollered, "Ryoma!"

A few seconds later, an irritated voice replied, "What?"

"Pick up the phone," Nanjiro instructed, "someone wants to speak to you."

Finally, Fantina heard a voice on the other end. "Ryoma Echizen."

"Ryoma!" She sighed in relief, running her free hand through her dark hair. "It's great to hear from you again. How are you? This is Ms. Kai."

There was silence, and inside his house, Ryoma paused the video game he was working on. He then muttered, "Who?"

"You don't know me? I'm Ms. Kai, Cherrylea's mother. Do you know who _she _is?"

"Ah. Cherry. Yeah, I do." Ryoma leaned against the headrest, closing his eyes. "Uh, I'm fine, thanks for asking. Ms. Kai, is something wrong? You sound a bit frantic."

"Actually, yes, there is something bothering me. Cherrylea hasn't come home yet, and I know that she and you and the Seishun tennis players came around eight hours ago, back from the cruise. Have you seen her?"

He thought for a moment, and then said, "Yeah, we talked a little before her brother arrived. And a few hours ago, one of my upperclassmen, Takeshi Momoshiro, and I were playing some street tennis and she joined in for a few games before taking off. You do know that she served a Twist Serve at Mateo today. It caught him right under the jaw."

"Yes, he showed me when I came home."

The phone was silent for a long moment on both ends, and then Ryoma muttered, "Cherry's a really positive person, and as much as I don't want to admit it, a great female tennis player. Good luck on finding her."

"Thank you, honey, I'll try." Fantina felt a warm smile spread over her face. _He hasn't changed a bit – well, possibly a little sweeter than before, but…_ "Have a good night, Ryoma, and please, tell your father that I wish him all joyful thoughts."

"Sure." The line went dead.

Fantina snapped her cell shut, slipping it into the pocket of her jeans. She raked another hand through her messy black hair, wishing more than anything that she didn't look like the crazy, frantic, over-protective mother that many children had. All she wanted was for her daughter to come home, safe and sound. She and Cherrylea and Mateo would have a talk later.

The door to the garage opened, and in stepped a pre-teenage girl, a purple suitcase in one hand and a pair of black rollerblades in the other. A stylish red hat covered her black hair. She lightly kicked the door shut.

"Lea!" With a happy smile spreading over her face, Fantina ran over to her daughter and hugged her tight against her bosom, ignoring the girl's protests and attempts to get away. "Where have you been, young lady? I've called Nanjiro and asked Mateo and" –

"Is he here?" Forcefully, Cherrylea pulled herself away from her mother's arms. She let her suitcase and rollerblades fall to the ground, making a _thud. _She crossed her arms over the chest of her tight black tank-top.

"Nanjiro? Heavens, no."

"No, I meant Mateo."

Before Fantina could reply, the basement door opened and the blond male stepped out, his breath a little ragged and a little bit of sweat at the nape of his neck. He started to say something with a grin on his face, but when his eyes zeroed in on Cherrylea, they narrowed.

"You're home." Mateo didn't say it like a statement, but instead, he said it more like an accusation.

Quickly, Fantina jumped in, hoping to smooth the fur that was starting to get rippled. "Well, now that we're all here as one big happy family, I suppose we'll have dinner, which I cooked three hours ago. Cherrylea, it's your favorite – chicken rice curry with beef. By the way, Lea, you know your dish, Molten Cake Crème? A chef came in today and tried it and he said that he wants to" –

"Why are you here, Mateo?" asked Cherrylea coldly, regarding her brother with blank eyes and ignoring her mother. "I didn't think you'd be outta prison for another year, at the least. And how'd you know that I had just returned from the cruise?"

"Okay, first off – I didn't even _know _you were on a cruise. I just happened to be driving by, in my new Ferrari, on the way home when I thought I saw Nanjiro's son."

"His name is Ryoma. Ryoma Echizen, not Nanjiro's son."

"Yeah, whatever." Mateo ran a hand through his dark blond hair, ruffling it even more than it was before. "So I thought maybe I stick around to actually glimpse Mr. Samurai himself. But instead, who do I see climbing down from that black bus? Why, none other than Cherrylea Kai! I figured that I would take you home. But what do you do?"

He then tilted his chin upwards, to display the ugly, dark bruise of a tennis ball.

"I get this damn bruise imprinted into my chin! Do you think I want to walk around with a tattoo that says, I GOT MY ASS KICKED BY MY LITTLE SISTER, WHO USED A DAMN TENNIS BALL? No, that's _not _what I want. I can't believe you did that!"

"Watch your language," injected Fantina quietly.

"Shut up, Mateo," snarled Cherrylea, her eyes dark and her face suddenly in shadows that made her chocolate brown eyes seem harsh and unforgiving. "Maybe you should learn to tell when a person doesn't want you there anymore. You may have helped in the past, but now? I can't take the sight of you."

"Yeah?" Before either mother or daughter had a chance to react, Mateo had sprung forward; he now was grabbing her shoulders, pulling her face so close to hers' that she could smell alcohol on his breath. "Well, Cherrylea, maybe _you _should learn some manners, how to treat your brother, and lastly, _you have to realize that I had been senseless at the time, so I didn't know that I was going to slaughter him!" _He then brought his hand around and slapped her.

Cherrylea felt a sharp, sudden stinging pain flare up on her cheek, and her head swayed violently to the side as the world flashed red.

The house was strangely quiet. Fantina stared in shock, as she had just witnessed her son slap her daughter. Cherrylea held one hand against her cheek, holding every feeling and every comeback she wanted to give him. Mateo stood there, his breath still ragged. No one had ever slapped her before. Not Fantina, not Mateo, _nobody._

Cherrylea was the first one to break from the trance. She bent down and picked up her suitcase, leaving her rollerblades where they were, discarded against the wall. She strided over to the closet and pulled out her navy blue coat, drawing it on. Then she walked back over to where her mother and brother stood, and opened the garage door, glancing over to say,

"It's better to forgive a soul than to take one."

He opened his mouth to protest, but thinking better of what effect his nasty comment would generate, he shut it as Cherrylea stepped into the garage, shutting the door quietly behind her. "Mom, I" –

"Save it," she snapped. Fantina felt nothing for her son. With a feeling of emptiness and despair, she made her way to the dinner table and sat down, picking up a silver fork and stabbing her food. "Your dinner is getting cold."

Mateo was silent for a moment, and then he shook his head. "I'm sorry. Really, I am."

"No, you're not. You're never sorry, and you never have been. I may not have been there to witness what you'd done that night, but I'm sure that poor Cherrylea has been scarred, all thanks to that one, drunken act. If you're going to act this way in my house, I want you out of here immediately. Now, come and eat your food. It's getting cold, and I will not tolerate the fact that I had to cook dinner for three, but only two are eating." The strange thing was that this was the first time Fantina had ever snapped or gotten angry at someone. Her vision got blurry for a moment, but when she blinked, it was back to normal. With a small, inaudible sigh, she forced the mouthful of cold rice curry down her throat.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Disclaimer ~ I do not own Prince of Tennis, but I do own Fantina Kai, Cherrylea Kai, and Mateo Kai. Kisses and love, please read and review!**

"You know, if you keep these grades up as where they are now, you'll have a great future ahead of you."

"I know."

Ryoma and Nanjiro Echizen were sitting in their living room, doing whatever they pleased. Nanjiro was reading the newspaper, with a porn magazine hidden inside of it, while his son was flipping through the weekly edition of a tennis magazine. It was quiet, a sweet, priceless son-father time that both rarely had time to have.

"Dad, how long have you really known Ms. Kai?"

Nanjiro looked up, startled by the sudden question. He then regained his composure, and replied, "Oh, I've known the wonderful woman long before you were born. She and I were close friends in high school, where as your mother despised her. Fantina is a lovely woman, just like her daughter. She has this strange thing about herself that makes everyone love her. I swear, ever since a month ago, you've become softer and softer and less sarcastic somehow, if that's possible."

"Huh." Flicking his eyes downward, Ryoma quickly read through a short, half-page passage that talked about Fudomine and its' sudden fame, thanks to Kippei and his guidance. He chose to ignore his father's last comment. "So you've known Cherry for a long time, too?"

"Yup."

"That would explain why I found the necklace in your room," Ryoma muttered, settling back against the three-seat sofa.

Unfortunately, his father heard him, and he looked at his son with a mildly annoyed expression. "You – did you take it?" he asked.

When Ryoma nodded, Nanjiro let out a long sigh. "That stinks, especially considering that Cherrylea wanted me to keep it." He closed the newspaper and leaned back in the armchair; since it was 10:15 p.m., he looked tired, with bags appearing under his eyes.

"Yeah, that's why she asked me to keep an eye out for it," Ryoma replied sarcastically.

"Shut up."

They were silent for a few minutes, with the occasional flick of paper due to Ryoma turning the page of his magazine. Then a soft, pitter-patter noise started, followed by a sound similar to the sky opening up and rain pouring down.

"Ryoma."

The said male glanced up when his father said his name. Something in Nanjiro's expression frightened him: it was so serious, something he hadn't been for a long time. "Cherrylea is seriously one amazing girl. She has to go through so much just to live, just to survive. When she and her family lived in Central Asia, an event completely terrible was bestowed upon them, so they moved here, leaving Mateo behind. Mateo used to be…such a nice boy. I feel so hideous for Ms. Kai…" He trailed off, and then a grin escaped his solemn expression, stretching over his face.

"Did she join the girls' tennis team?"

Ryoma had never given that much thought. "Not that I know of. She and Sakuno are always hanging around Momoshiro and Kaoru and Eiji."

Then he remembered. "Hey, earlier this morning, Cherry used this unique serve that caught Mateo right under the jaw. It was a variation of the Twist Serve, but she had it homemade."

"Ah." Nanjiro smiled familiarly. "That was the Fruit Smash."

When he saw his son's confused expression, Nanjiro explained, "Her Fruit Smash is her shot that she uses to get a clear winner. Half of the FS is a Twist Serve, and the other half is similar to a Dunk Smash. That's why it's so deadly – because it's a serve and a return all jam-packed into one. If she wants an ace, she'll use the FS Twist Serve. If she gets the right kind of lob, she's use the FS Dunk Smash."

Before Ryoma could reply, someone knocked on the front door.

Nanjiro stood up with an exhale. "I'll get it," he said, lumbering over to the door. A few seconds later, he exclaimed, "Wow – it's great to see you again! Look at how much you've grown. You look great. Now come inside, quickly; you must get out of the rain."

Ryoma heard his father close the door, and then he reappeared back into the living room, a smile on his face. "Who was it?" Ryoma asked, turning his attention back to the magazine that he was flipping through.

With a know-it-all look, his father sat back down in his armchair, refusing to answer the question. All he said was, "You'll see," and then turned his head to the corridor that lead to the front door. Ryoma followed his gaze, and then his heart skipped a beat when he laid his eyes on the figure standing there.

"Hey." Cherrylea stood, dressed in an open navy-blue jacket and a short, white skirt with a green plaid design. The hood of her jacket was over her head, and her black hair tumbled down her shoulders. In her arms was her purple suitcase. "I'm sorry I had to come here." The water droplets that were on her clothes shone in the light.

"No, no, it's okay. Sit down." Nanjiro gestured at the other sofas, inviting her.

She shrugged her shoulders a little bit, gently setting her suitcase down on the ground and then walking over to sit on the same sofa as Ryoma was, though she sat as far away as she could get without falling off. As she pulled down her hood and ran her fingers through her messy hair, Ryoma took a peek to study her expression. Though she didn't look mad or angry, there was something in the depths of her eyes…betrayal? Anger? Damage?

However, Nanjiro didn't take any notice – he acted fine, as if seventh-graders always showed up around ten thirty at night every day. "So, Lea," he said conversationally, "how are you? I haven't seen you in a while. Anything juicy going on between you and some certain person?"

As Ryoma mentally smacked himself for having a father, one whom was completely perverted and annoying at times, Cherrylea softly laughed. "I'm fine, thanks. And I'm glad you haven't changed at all since the last time I saw you."

"Mmm. And I've heard that you haven't joined the girls' tennis team?"

"Yeah, I've been spending my time around some other certain things. Actually, to be honest, I haven't really have _time _to play a full tennis match since…forever, well except this afternoon, when I played a doubles match with Momoshiro. Plus, if I just randomly joined the girls' tennis team, someone would be bound to recognize my playing style and then my cover would be blown."

"You're currently under cover?" Ryoma raised an eyebrow. He hadn't known that.

Both Cherrylea and Nanjiro turned to face him. "I'm surprised even Mr. Tennis Prodigy hasn't found out yet!" Smiling, Cherrylea reached over and poked him playfully on the cheek. "Yes, I'm undercover at school, known by the name Rogue." She gave a little laugh, but it sounded a bit humorless. "I'm just surprised that nobody has realized what a fake name I have chosen for myself."

Then she leaned back against the couch with a loud yawn. "I'm so sorry that I had to come here," she apologized once again as she tried unsuccessfully to stifle the yawn. "I was out all day playing tennis and roaming around the streets, and when I got home, I found that my two family members were waiting for me, and then we kind of had a little…" She trailed off, something close to anger flashing deep in her chocolate brown eyes.

"That's alright," Nanjiro instantly replied, rubbing the stubble on his chin. "We were having a little talk about tennis before you came in. You'll just need some clothes and a place to sleep…" He looked at Ryoma, his eyes gleaming. "Son, how 'bout sharing your bed with her?"

"You wish," muttered the reddening male. He closed the magazine, tossing it onto the coffee table in front of the sofa. Then he stood up. "C'mon, Cherry – how about _I _show you where you sleep?"

Cherrylea stood up as well, shooting Nanjiro a dirty look. "Sure…hey, Nanjiro?"

"Hmm?" He looked up from the porn magazine he had hidden inside a thick Encyclopedia.

A grin stretched over her face. "It's great to see you as well, knowing that you're still the dirty, perverted monk I know." Ignoring Ryoma's eye roll, she flounced over to get her suitcase and then followed Ryoma upstairs.


	13. Chapter 13

"…and for tonight, you can sleep here." Gesturing to his bed, with the covers messily thrown on top, Ryoma was instructing Cherrylea. The girl had taken a shower – she looked completely fresh and clean – and she had changed into a pair of long, white warm-up pants, that looked like a part of her tennis uniform, if she had one, and an old, button-up blue shirt that no longer fit Ryoma, so he let her borrow it. Though Ryoma wasn't all up for the idea of giving up his bed to a girl, he was glad he was giving it up to Cherrylea, rather than Tomoka, Sakuno's friend whom was obsessed with him.

Cherrylea placed her suitcase atop the bed and then sat down, folding her long legs underneath her. "Thanks, Echizen." She felt a bit awkward all of a sudden. Only yesterday had she told him the truth – that she had been involved with Nanjiro's injury – yet yesterday may as well have been three years ago. Out of an old habit, her fingers flew to the pendant made from gold and ruby and sapphire. "I'm really sorry" –

"I know. You've said that at least a thousand times since you've stepped foot into this house." Ryoma was leaning against the wall, a smirk on his lips. "Stop apologizing."

She tried to ignore how utterly adorable he looked in a white tee and navy blue sweatpants, with his hair all ruffled to the point that if it had been ruffled a fraction more, she might as well just pounce. "Sorry," she murmured, staring down into her lap and then at her long, manicured fingernails with the chipping neon green nail polish. _I need to paint these again._

Ryoma walked over to his desk, with the stacks of papers and magazines and textbooks and his computer hooked up on the far right, flicking off the desk lamp. Then he turned back around. "Tell me why you're really here," he demanded.

Cherrylea glanced up, a strange feeling overcoming her, as if her stomach had just dropped into an empty hole and had collided with the floor. "I don't want to talk about it," she protested.

He gave his eyes a quick, annoyed roll. "Yeah. Every night, some girl just wanders in here, and both me and Dad allow her to sleep here for the night." He chuckled. "C'mon, Cherry – spill."

"Look," she snapped, suddenly angry, "I said I don't want to talk about it. How many times do I have to say it so that the message airs clear into your brain?"

He didn't reply. He glanced out of his window, feeling a bit startled by her short outburst. The rain didn't seem like it was letting up; it was pouring down in shards, as if the sky was weeping uncontrollably.

When he finally turned back to face Cherrylea, he was surprised to see her stifling back tears, her hands tightened into fists as she glared into her lap, hiding her expression.

Now he felt ashamed. "Cherry," he said, almost pleadingly, "c'mon. Don't cry." _Damn, Dad was right – ever since I've met Cherry, she has been softening me up somehow. _She merely looked up, caught his expression, and then began to sob, loud racking sobs that rattled her frame. The tears ran down her cheeks like rivers.

He made his way over to the bed, feeling awkward, and sat next to her. "I didn't think what I said was going to have such an effect on you, Cherry…c'mon, stop crying. What's wrong?"

Embarrassed by her sudden mood swing, Cherrylea started to wipe her eyes, but even she knew that that movement wasn't going to be enough to stop her. Instead, she turned away from him, sobbing into her hands.

"It wasn't what I said, right?" Ryoma had to know.

She shook her head, and managed, "Echizen, you don't know how lucky you are to have Nanjiro, even though he's a completely childish pervert at times. If he was my father, I'd feel so violated…but happy."

He was shocked. "You're crying because of my dad?" he dead-panned incredulously, wide-eyed.

She tried to laugh. "No." Her forced smile disappeared, and her chocolate brown eyes started to fill again. "What I mean is…" – she sniffed softly – "…you're so lucky to have a tight-knit family, one that never gets angry with you."

"Well, I wouldn't say that," Ryoma muttered, "but what do you mean?"

"Have you ever wondered why I never even bother to tell you about my past? About who I was before I came here? About why I never told you I was a tennis player, a rising prodigy, close to who you are"

There was that. Ryoma had never realized that though she seemed to know who he was, she never let anything slip about her past. If anyone had asked, _"What's this Cherry-girl like? What's her background?"_, he wouldn't be able to answer. "Is there a story behind this?" he asked, and she nodded slowly, failing to muffle a sudden sob that escaped her lips.

"You know why I never tell you anything? It's because I'm afraid. I'm embarrassed. I'm completely _ashamed." _She was silent for a moment. Then she whispered, "Because Mateo killed our father."

"What?" Ryoma was genuinely startled, and he wasn't sure if she had seriously gone mad.

She nodded. "Mateo used to be the sweetest male there ever was. All his friends looked up to him, everyone in town knew who he was, he was so popular and good-looking…he sort of radiates. I thought I was so lucky to have him as a brother. To have a golden, pure brother that no one else could compare.

"Now fast-forward to a week in late summer, when my mother had gone on a business trip to – here, actually, something about being a great chef. I was out with my father, late at night, in our backyard. We had small, little creek and lush grass and leafy, healthy trees. I was around the age of five years old. We were talking, and he was explaining why there were so many stars in the sky. I love stars and the moon, you see?"

She laughed softly through tears that were silently falling down her cheeks. A sudden sob racked her body, and her shoulder violently jerked forward. As a reflex, Ryoma reached out and put his arms around her shoulders to steady her.

Cherrylea continued, "While Father was explaining the reason, the sound of unsteady footsteps and ragged breath caused by to glance behind my shoulder. There stood Mateo, dressed in an open leather jacket and ripped, black jeans; behind him stood Rusty, his friend, who also happens to be Jen's brother. Jeno is one of my closest friends. Since Rusty's sweet and innocent, our family trusted him. Father greeted Rusty warmly and then asked Mateo where he had been.

"I don't know if Mateo was trying to be astute, because he grunted something completely foul. Thinking he had misheard him, Father asked again, but before Mateo could do anything else, Rusty murmured, 'I found him at the bar, sir.' Rusty never lied and I remember watching Father stand up, his dancing gray eyes narrowing angrily. He hated people who drank, and he wasn't going to allow his son to join the club. His voice was lucid when he admonished, 'Mateo, you know well that no son of mine is allowed to drink. Get inside the house, wash that filthy liquid away and when you're finished, you and I will have a long chat.'

"Mateo never did like it when people told him what to do. He snarled, 'How come, old man? A little drink won't hurt anyone.' Father told him to shut up and get his ass inside the house. I had stepped over to Rusty, hugging his calf, and he placed a hand atop my head, giving me a look that I still can't quite place…pity? Regret? Sympathy?

"So then Mateo cursed again, running his hand through his long, dark blond hair. He rolled his eyes and muttered, 'Really lame, Dad, this is such a bore.' Father replied calmly, 'Son, if you don't get your sorry ass into the house under the next minute, you are going to experience some serious Hell.'"

Cherrylea's eyes widened, as if she was reliving the exact moment here, right in Ryoma's house. She held his gaze. She reminded his of a puppy, a scared, wild-eyed puppy in a locked cage with no way out. "You know what Mateo did?" she whispered, starting to tremble. "Do you _know _what he _did?_"

He shook his head.

"Mateo replied, 'Yeah, let me know what it's like.' He pulled out a switchblade from his pocket, one that he always carried around for protection, and stuck it deep into Father's chest. I'd let out a small shriek. Father's eyes started to darken, and then light in them slowly faded. He fell to his knees, blood mushrooming over his white fleece pullover. He murmured, 'C-lea…please…save your…' and then he just – I don't know, _died. _He fell onto the grass and lay still, his head rolling upward to stare at Mateo with empty eyes. Mateo laughed, and kicked his limp body. I guess Randy was in a panic – he swore at Mateo, picked me up against his chest, and ran. Ran until he reached his house. Then he plucked me down next to his kid brother and called the police.

"Mateo had just turned fifteen. He got thrown in jail…not juvy, because he was charge with manslaughter and he had to serve for five to six years. No one ever went to visit him. I lived with Rusty and Jeno for two weeks, until my mom got back. When she found out, she was real calm with the situation – she didn't cry, but instead, she arranged an immediate deal for us to move here. So, now you know my story."

Cherrylea had stopped crying, but she was trembling. Quietly, with his arms wrapped around her shoulders, Ryoma muttered, "God – I'm sorry." He was, too. When he had first met her, in Seishun Academy's tennis courts at lunch hanging around Sakuno, he had thought she was another whiny female, but she wasn't anything _near _that. Cherrylea was a cool, calm, cute, friendly, maturing female, one whom played tennis and had a sweet attitude to everyone, aside from Mateo. He had no idea how many dismaying stories were bottled up inside of her.

"Hey," he asked, a thought suddenly popping up into his brain, "why'd you join tennis? Let me guess – while you were living with Rusty, you saw a tennis ball and fell in love with it at the age of five."

"Five and a half, actually," she smiled. "When I first played tennis, I was just experimenting with it, and I liked the sport because…I could take, like, _revenge _on the ball, and get all my anger out with the racket. It was relaxing and calming, too. After a while, I started to give up everything for tennis – school, food, and even sleep. My mom caught me playing up at a street tennis court, against a high schooler, and I beat him. Imagine, an elementary kid beating a high schooler. She instantly called up Nanjiro and begged him to teach me. He agreed, and when I turned seven, my birthday gift was a pair of sneakers, rollerblades – so I could get to lessons quickly, and a bright blue tennis racket."

Her drying cheeks suddenly became damp again.

"Crying, again?" Ryoma said, somewhat sarcastically. She shook her head.

"Happy tears," she explained, "because, Echizen, it's fantastic to finally have that story off of my chest. I can't take keeping memories bottled. And I'm you're the one who…_released _me, you could put it." She fell backwards, flopping onto the bed. "Lie with me," she demanded softly.

He rolled his eyes, but his cheeks reddened. "I'd rather not, Cherry," he replied, pushing her suitcase off the bed. "You get rest. I'll play some video games."

"Nope." Picking up a discarded tennis ball off of the floor, Cherrylea threw it across the room, aiming for the light switch. The ball landed its' target with uncanny accuracy. The light flicked off, shrouding the room with total darkness. With a soft giggle, she grabbed his forearms and pulled him down aside her.

He sighed, reaching for the covers and throwing it across their bodies. "Do I have a choice?" he asked, slinging an arm around her waist and pulling her close as she entangled herself into him.

She shook her head slightly, burying her face in his neck and closing her eyes. "Not really, Echizen."

**Nanjiro: Way to go, my son! (grins and nods approvingly)**

**Cherrylea: Nope. (scowls and smacks his head with a tennis racket)**

**Ryoma: See what I have to live through? (sighs)**

**LinChungIsHot: Comments, questions, concerns? I hope you liked the chappie…it took forever to write, and even longer to type! (exhales happily) A little preview for the next chapter – let's just say that my very dear friend, Kaoru Kaido, will be forced, by our amazing Cherrylea, to act like a girl for a few torturous moments. **

**Kaoru: Oh no.**

**LinChungIsHot: Oh yes, sweetheart. Good night, or, maybe good morning or good afternoon, and tune in for the next chappie! (blows kiss and winks) **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Okay, so if you're reading this, that means you've been here for more than ten thousand words of typing, ten thousand words of tragedies, ten thousand words of Prince of Tennis and Ryoma. So how about getting to know the important characters so far in this story?**

**Cherrylea Kai: In seventh grade. Very friendly, warm, caring. From Central Asia. Has a mother, a jailed brother, and a deceased father. Began playing tennis at the age of five-and-a-half. A female tennis prodigy.**

**Ryoma Echizen: In seventh grade. Very overconfident, handsome, cocky. Has a sort-of perverted father. A tennis prodigy. A little bit of romance between him and Cherrylea?**

**Nanjiro Echizen: Ryoma's father, who seems to have a little issue around a certain topic. Dresses a bit like a monk. Used to be famous tennis player. Coached Cherrylea and helped her train for matches and tournaments. **

**Fantina Kai: Cherrylea's mother. Very good friends with Nanjiro. Runs a café called **_**Sprinkles&Buttons. **_**From Central Asia. Has a deceased husband. A little overprotective of her daughter.**

**Mateo Kai: Fantina's son and Cherrylea's older brother. Killed his father with a knife when he was in a drunken state. Was jailed for six years. **

**And, of course, the Seigaku Tennis Team members are important as well. (You've probably noticed that I don't use Taka in this story, but mainly because I don't know him well) So now, please enjoy this chapter…give feedback on anything you disagree with, and please tell me what you like! Kisses and love from your dear author, LinChungIsHot.**

"One more time, Kaoru," Sadaharu Inui drilled. He hit the tennis ball to the far left, his racket in one hand and his notebook in the other.

Kaoru ran to his left, getting ready to hit. For the last hour, Seigaku Tennis Team for the males had begun, but for the last fifteen minutes after the thirty laps around the courts, Sadaharu had been testing him, serving balls his way. Kaoru needed to perfect his Boomerang Snake, and when he mastered it, the move would be invincible. The ball neared him, spinning closer. He dived, positioning to swing his racket.

"_Kaoru!"_

That startled him. He had been in the process of swinging, but even so, the cry had startled him so much that he had forgotten to swing his racket. The ball bounced against the court, kicking up some dust, and then rolling slowly away. In mid-fall, Kaoru flipped himself so that he landed hard on his back. With a long exhale, he stood up, straightening his bandana and then glaring in the direction from which that had called him, thus whom he had been distracted by.

Cherrylea was skipping nonchalantly into the courts, her big purple duffel bag bouncing on her shoulder. Since the school day had ended long ago, she had changed from the usual girl's outfit to a short, plaid white skirt, a black tank-top, a Japanese fashioned purple scarf that was knotted around her neck and orange sneakers. Big, dangling purple feathers hung from her earlobes, and even though it was chilly outside, she showed no signs that she owned a jacket in her disposal at the moment.

"Hey, Cherrylea, great to see you here!" Shuichiro called out before hitting his famous Moon Volley to Shusuke. They were playing a practice match.

"Same here, Shuichiro!" she replied before stopping in front of Kaoru, a big smile on her glossy, pink lips.

"What do you want, Cherrylea?" he demanded, crossing his arms over his chest with another long exhale.

"Ouch. Cold." She frowned momentarily, and then she exclaimed happily, "Guess what? Actually, don't guess. I got a hundred on my Algebra test!" She squealed enthusiastically and dropped her duffle bag to the ground, digging through its' contents. "Here…let me find it…here it is!" She pulled out a slightly crumpled paper, filled with all sorts of complicated mathematical problems. On the top, scrawled in red was 100%.

"Uhh…good job," he replied awkwardly. He had never praised someone, not once in his life. He now wondered why Cherrylea was always so happy to talk to him. Not that he didn't look forward to her innocent banters, but…

"Thank you!" she said politely, throwing her arms around his waist and hugging him hard. His face turned slightly red. Then she stepped back, letting go of him and discarding her test in her duffle bag. "When Mr. Takashi showed me the test, I swear I squealed so loud that the whole Earth probably heard me!" She then gazed at Kaoru innocently. "Kaoru, have you ever tried squealing?"

He shook his head once. "I won't."

"Please?" she begged, making her chocolate brown eyes go wide.

"No."

"Pleeaaase…with sprinkles and cherries and chocolate sauce on top? Just for me?"

"Fine." Rolling his eyes, Kaoru muttered inaudibly, "I can't believe I'm doing this." Then he said out loud, "Okay – so how do you do it?"

"Yay!" Cherrylea pumped a fist into the air, her smile expanding. "I love you so much! Okay. You have to, like, get this happy expression on your face and smile and go exactly like this: Squeee!"

"Uh…squeee?"

She began to laugh, and despite how embarrassed the Seigaku Tennis member felt, he couldn't stop a sheepish grin from spreading on his face.

"Yo – nice, Kaoru, show her how it's done. Show her the girly side of you that we've all known, Viper," cut in Momoshiro, who had overheard Cherrylea's pleading and Kaoru's fake squeal with an amused grin.

"Shut up and drop dead, fool!" he snapped back.

Cherrylea giggled to herself, letting the two long-time rivals bicker at each other. She dropped her duffle bag against the metal-wire court wall, grabbing her bright purple racket and then jogging her way over to Kunimitsu, who was talking to Coach Ryuzaki.

"Diamond Song," greeted the old woman kindly, a smile spreading over her face as she used the name that all of Cherrylea's teachers called her by, since they thought that was her real name. "Or should I say Cherrylea Kai, the famous one and only female tennis prodigy who began playing tennis at the age of five-and-a-half? I get a call from my dear friend Nanjiro Echizen, telling me that one of his beautiful, wonderful young female students was amongst us."

"Did you try out for the girls' tennis team?" Kunimitsu asked.

Cherrylea nodded, feeling proud she had accomplished his request before he had even brought it up to her. "I submitted in my paperwork today, which was filled with stuff about my previous home and experience with tennis. When I told the coach that I was Cherrylea Kai, he laughed like he didn't believe me and told me that I was Diamond Song. He told me to prove that I really was Cherrylea, so I did: I used my ever so famous Fruit Smash on him. He now believes me, but the poor fool has a bruise on his cheek." Coach Ryuzaki chuckled in an amused manner while Kunimitsu stayed expressionless.

Cherrylea then twirled her racket in her right hand expertly. "Coach" – she was addressing Kunimitsu – "can I try one of your drills? Anything but swings."

He thought for a moment before agreeing. "Alright." Then he motioned for Sadaharu Inui to come on over. "Have her to the hand-eye coordination drill. Upon her own request."

Moments later…

"Blue," Cherrylea murmured as she hit the tennis ball across the court, over to the blue cone. To any player, the tennis ball would look as if it was its' normal shade of yellow-green, but she knew the trick: in the grooves of the ball were colored blue, purple, or red. On the ball that Sadaharu had served her, the grooves were blue.

"Are you sure it's not red?" taunted the male.

"Or orange?" yelled Momoshiro, who had stopped to watch.

"I'm positive," Cherrylea shot back at Sadaharu, and lobbed the oncoming ball. "Red – and there's _no _orange, Momo!"

"Aww." Momoshiro sighed sadly.

Some of the eighth graders had stopped and begun to watch. For the last fifteen minutes, Cherrylea had been rapidly firing at the cones without fail, and she hadn't missed one yet. Even Kunimitsu looked sort of impressed. Murmurs started to rise as she slammed her bright purple racket into another tennis ball.

"Yo, Cherry!"

"Not now," she replied back, a smirk crossing her face as Sadaharu threw her a lob with a purple groove. Taking a few running steps forward, she jumped and then preformed a homemade version of the Dunk Smash, sending the ball professionally spiraling wildly towards the cone. _This is so much fun, and it's improving my hand-eye coordination, something that no matter how many times Nanjiro tried to help me with, I couldn't ever get past his one serve. _And the fact that Seigaku tennis members, one of the best seeded tennis teams in the country, was watching her…

"Yo, Sadaharu, why not have Coach join you?" she called, feeling a little bit overconfident. "When it's only you hitting it, it's too slow and easy."

"Yeah?" he said in response as he waved Kunimitsu over to join him. "If you ask for it, I guess I can't refuse."

"Cherry!" The same voice, mysterious and annoying and starting to break her concentration, called again. The said female sighed, dashing to the side and hitting two red tennis balls to the red cone.

"I'm kind of busy!" she snapped at whoever was calling her name. "So why don't you shut your mouth and – whoa!"

The next thing she knew was that there was a pair of arms hugging her tightly, so tightly that she momentarily couldn't breathe. Finally, she struggled away and gasped a much needed sweet breath of air. A blue grooved tennis ball hit her lower back, but she didn't care. Instead, something was rising in her throat as she stared at the figure across from her.

Then the two females let out a shriek in unison. Cherrylea unconsciously dropped her racket and exclaimed, "Oh my God! What're you…how'd you…wait, _what?_"

The other female, a lean figure with long blond hair, smiled and said in a knowing tone, "And you're still playing tennis, showing off for the others, huh, C-lea? Some things never change."

They were silent for a moment, staring at each other, and then they shrieked again, gripping each other tightly.

Finally, Ryoma got bored of watching the two. He was also annoyed by the way no one was playing tennis at the moment, because they had all been watching Cherrylea and her uncanny hand-eye coordination. She had eagle eyes, developed by his own father, so Ryoma wasn't at all that surprised. With a roll of his eyes, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a tennis ball, and aimed for her side.

She had seen it coming – at the exact moment he threw the ball, she side-stepped, and instead, the ball hit the other female. With a satisfied smirk, Cherrylea pushed dark strands of her hair that had tumbled across her forehead and said, "Really, Echizen, you have to be smarter than that. I dealt with your father, you know."

The blonde next to her perked up when Cherrylea said, "Echizen." She looked around, her blue eyes scanning the crowd until she spotted Ryoma; they lit up happily. She let out a squeal and bounded over to him. "Why, is it not Ryoma Echizen?" she squeezed his cheeks, laughing. "The last time I saw you, you were an adorable little toddler."

"Do…I know you?" he managed, ducking away from her reach with a confused expression. "Cherry, do you care to explain?"

Cherrylea nodded, stretching her arms up with a content sigh. "Yeah, yeah, sure, boy. Okay: she's my older cousin, Aya Taiyo, and she's in ninth grade. Though we're two years apart, she's like my sister." She turned to the blonde. "How'd you get here?"

With a smile, Aya ran her slender fingers through her silky hair. "Well, Papa and Mom had a little business vacation, and they weren't allowed to bring me. They were thinking about dropping me off at Grandpa's house, but Aunt Fantina happened to call in at that moment…thank your mom, C-lea, because I'm staying with you until my folks get back!"

"For how long?"

"Two weeks." Aya winked, and Cherrylea pumped her fist happily.

Then Coach Ryuzaki hollered, "Okay, eighth and seventh graders, get back to practice! Starters, line up, because I have a feeling that Cherrylea will introduce you to her friend, Aya!" She clapped her hands quickly. "Come on – pick up the step!" The males yelled, "Yes, ma'am!" and followed her orders, quickly resuming whatever it was that they had been doing. The Starters circled the females, waiting.

Cherrylea smiled, pointing to each one as she said their name. "Okay, first is the captain, Kunimitsu Tezuka, but I call him Coach. He, like, never smiles. Next is the assistant captain, Shuichiro Oishi, and he's the mother of the team and the most sympathic. Then comes Momoshiro, the one with the big appetite and the most awesome Dunk Smash! This is Kaoru Kaido, known as the Viper because of his snake-like hits and returns, and I love Kaoru, because he is unbelievably amazing!" – he reddened as the males turned to raise their eyebrows at him – "Then comes Ryoma Echizen, but you already know him. Here's Shusuke Fuji, the one with the incredible eyes; this is Sadaharu Inui, the statistical data-typed one, and last but not least is Eiji Kikumaru. He's like a cat, so I always call him Kitty Kikumaru. He's awesome."

Cherrylea took notice when Eiji and Aya locked gazes. They blushed and glanced away.

Then Tezuka turned to face the Starters. "Okay, back to practice!" They all yelled, "YEAH!" and followed him back to the courts. However, Eiji stayed where he was, the blush still tingeing his cheeks.

"Hey, Cherry, maybe you and the little guy can have a doubles game against Shuichiro and me?" he offered, running a hand through his messy hair.

She smiled. "I'll think about it, Kitty."

He grinned. "Cool." Then he waved, jogging to the others. "See ya, Cherry! Uh…y-you too, Aya."

Cherrylea cheerfully waved back with a grin on her face, but Aya blushed a little harder. Once the male was out of sight, the younger female let out a sigh, bending down to pick up her momentarily discarded racket. "Well," she said, "I have to go practice, because I had been in the middle of, like," –

"Showing off your tennis skills?" Aya laughed. She caught her cousin's pointed stare. "What? Why are you staring at me and smiling like that?"

"No reason." With a devil's grin, Cherrylea said, "Well, there's still more than a good hour here for these boys, and I'm staying. So occupy yourself – with visuals, treats, or both. Hey, Coach! Don't start the runs without me!" She ran off.


	15. Chapter 15

"Aw – too bad, so sad, my regrets for you, Cherry! That shot's still too tough for you, eh? I thought you'd be stronger by now…I'm disappointed."

"The shot may be hard, but I won't know unless you keep delivering it hard."

"Ha ha ha! You're a stubborn girl, Cherry, but upon you're request, here it is again!"

Ryoma leaned against the glass of the window in his room, secretly spying on the tennis drill between his father and the female tennis prodigy on his father's tennis court. He had been playing a video game, but he needed a break – besides, his eyes were beginning to hurt and he was starving, even though he had eaten an hour ago.

Outside on the court, Cherrylea was playing against Nanjiro, and from what Ryoma had witnessed, Cherrylea seemed vulnerable to any kind of jack knife shot. She would freeze up whenever he shot was hit, and by the time she recovered and swung, the ball would have been gone. Being her tennis coach, Nanjiro was trying to help her, though his slight sarcasm and overconfidence was visibly annoying her.

Despite the fact that the sun was no longer in the black backdrop of the sky, the moon was shrouded in hazy clouds, and the air was chilling crisp, Ryoma couldn't believe – and yet somehow he _could _– that the two were still playing tennis. Both wore jackets; by some god-knows-why reason, Cherrylea had a short white skirt on. Sometimes, he thought a few devoted tennis players were a little extreme…

"_You lose! Game over!"_

The video game's obnoxious narrator laughed as it announced the winner of the match. Ryoma sighed. "I still have a ways to go." He flicked the game system off and leaned back against his bed, not paying any heed that Kalpin, his Himalayan cat, had climbed into his lap and made itself at home. Unconsciously, he must've dozed off – the next thing he knew, someone was quietly creeping into his room. "You finally realized what time is it?"

A sheepish smile appeared on her face, and Cherrylea muttered, "Busted." She sat down on the bed, her smooth, toned legs dangling near Ryoma. "I would've played all night if it hadn't started to snow." She took off her navy blue jacket, running a gloved hand through her black hair – it indeed had white, melting snowflakes sprinkled here and there. "Do you mid if I borrow a shirt?"

"Will you even fit into one of mine?" He stood up, gently placing the sleeping Kalpin on the bed.

She sent daggers his way. Oh, if only looks could kill, he'd be dead more than once. "Are you implying that I'm fat?" she demanded.

He shrugged, making his way over to his closet. "Whatever you believe, Cherry, is fine with me." He opened the closet, pulling a plain white T-shirt from its' hanger and tossing it towards her. Then he turned his back to her as she changed out from her slightly damp short-sleeved turtleneck into his shirt. "So, it seems you're having troubles with jack knifes, hmm?"

She let out a breath, pulling his borrowed shirt over her head. "Seems like you've been spying, Echizen. But yeah – jack knifes are my only weakness." Before he could say anything, she cut in quickly, "I know, I know…the great Cherrylea Kai, tennis prodigy, susceptible to _jack knifes? _Your father has worked really hard to make me familiar with returning, to make me immune. But no matter how hard I push myself or however I play, I always freeze up whenever one of those devils are hit my way."

She flopped backwards onto the bed, swinging her legs up. "If only I could play someone other than Nanjiro. I love your father, Echizen, but I've gotten used to how hard he delivers."

He casually leaned against the wall, facing her with a smirk. _The last sentence can be taken wrong in so many ways, Cherry; you still have a ways to go. _"Play Momo, then."

"Momo? Does he know how to hit a jack knife?"

Ryoma nodded. "He can hit a Dunk Smash plus a homemade jack knife, even if he wildly charges at the net during doubles games. But if you play him…I'm sure he'll be careful as to not hit a lob your way, because he has seen your little stunt you pulled on Mateo. Just ask him." He walked over, taking a seat. "So, is your cousin…Aya going to school here?"

"Yeah – why're you asking about her?"

He grinned devilishly, and she fought an impulse to reach over and kiss him. "Eiji was talking about her today in practice. Sadaharu's guessing that our acrobat is in love, and unfortunately, when is Sadaharu ever wrong?"

She grinned back. "Nuh-uh – my Aya has had a crush on Kitty Kikumaru ever since she laid her eyes on his fine looking self…and KK likes her as well? How adorable! Kids are _so _cute at that age. I feel like telling Aya, but I can make her suffer a little more; besides, what she doesn't know won't hurt her, eh? I couldn't make it to your practice today because the girls' team had our practice as well, and Sakuno had to run through the courts to get me – the coach was pretty steamed when I showed up late, and he made me practice 1500 swings! What a jerk…but that only took me five minutes. Hey, I have a question for you: do you know Yuta Fuji?"

"Shusuke's brother from St. Rudolph."

Cherrylea looked surprised. "Huh…really? I had no idea, even though I thought they had the same lovely eyes" – Ryoma had no comment – "…After practice, I went up to one of those street courts and found him warming up. We talked for a while…and he really is an adorable sweetheart. Just as we were joking around about Hajime, because I've met him before on the cruise, some sort-of handsome king of monkeys showed up, flanked by some big dude. The king of monkeys said his name was Keigo Atobe. He challenged me and Yuta to a doubles game, and the offer was irresistible, so I just _couldn't _refuse. The problem was that Keigo didn't even play; he's a sitter! He simply sat down and ordered the big dude…Kabaji…to play for him. Man, what a beast of power Kabaji is. I used my Fruit Smash, and he returned it like it was nothing. Strange thing was that Kabaji used my Fruit Smash to start the next point – he had learned it in that instant he had watched me! Yuta stopped it with a perfect on-the-rise shot, but Kabaji wasn't even fazed. We lost…two games to seven. Keigo stood back up and had the nerve to say some things that I could imagine coming from Mateo's mouth…stuff about Yuta and me, and that really pricked me the wrong way, so out of reflex, I swung my fist. Keigo snapped his fingers and Kabaji blocked my fist and swung his _racket _at me – Yuta pulled me out of the way before it could come in contact with my jaw."

Ryoma was momentarily silent. _So Cherry met Yuta, and they played Keigo and that big guy, Kabaji, and Kabaji tried to hurt her? _"Keigo's from Hyotei."

Suddenly, Cherrylea's expression was dark and stormy. She met his eyes with her chocolate brown ones as hard as ice. "I _thought _I recognized him…I'm friend with one of his teammates, Ryo. I really despise the whole school, and their tennis coach?" She snarled. "Don't get me started. He is a jerk; if any starters lose a match badly, he kicks them out!"

She took in a deep breath. Then she smiled gently. "On the other hand, Ryo and I have known each other for a really long time, and as much as a jerk he is, Ryo can be really sweet. Oh, and Jiro! I forgot about that sleepy sweetheart! Man, he's one boy I could really enjoy a match with, and he's delicious looking, too!" She squealed happily.

He smirked. "You're obnoxious, you know that?"

Cherrylea leaned forward. She put her lips close to his ear, using one hand to pull him against her body. "That's why you love me," she murmured, her breath the same scent as peppermint.

Ryoma's heart began to race.

Then she jerked back, examining her nails: steel colored with a blood red stripe down the middle. She stood up and made her way to the door. "I hope you and your father keep lots of food around, because I'm starving!" She winked and stepped out into the hall, yelling, "Nanjiro – what's for dinner?"

**LinChungIsHot: Thanks for all the reviews I have so far! This is actually going to be the longest story I have so far, because I get a thrill out of typing it! And I just **_**had **_**to make Keigo and Yuta make a surprise appearance in Cherrylea's story, because I love both of them…ooh, and Jiro…he is one adorable sweetheart I just want to hug! (squeals)**

**Jiro: Zzz…**

**LinChungIsHot: Well, anyways, give me any comments or questions! And I will accept OC's…all of your ideas for your own characters are so much fun to read! Kisses and love!**

**Cherrylea: (examines nails more clearly) Wow, I really need to get a manicure. (looks up, startled) Oh! Uh…please keep reading Accidental Sparks! Heh heh heh…um…(looks back down and sighs) Why did I pick the gray-and-red combo? I should've done bright purple! What was I thinking?**

**Ryoma: Nothing, as usual.**


	16. Chapter 16

"_Ugh_."

"What do you see?"

"It looks like there are five or six balls…wait, I see eight! And now I see five! Yoshiro, do me a favor and never hit that blur ball, as long as I'm around."

Cherrylea, dressed quite adorably in a chocolate brown scoop neck and white skinny jeans and a gray fur winter coat and tall black boots, was hanging out in the street tennis court, where she had found Yuta – no surprise – Hajime, Yoshiro, and Shinya. The St. Rudolph attendees had been engaged in a heavy double match. Yuta had greeted Cherrylea cheerfully before using a perfect on-the-rise shot; Hajime had given his hair a twirl while commenting on her beautiful looks, which she had thanked him afterwards with a blush.

At the moment, Hajime was collecting data on her, though she chose to act oblivious to the fact. "Hmm…" he muttered as he scribbled something down. "So you have eagle eyes, just like Ryoma and–"

"Give me any day of the week, and I can beat both Echizen and Kitty Kikumaru. They both have eagle eyes as well, and while Ryoma may have overconfidence and Eiji might have amazing acrobatic skills, I've got experience and sly power!" She gave her head a practiced toss, flipping her side bangs from her left eye.

"Eiji Kikumaru?" Yoshiro asked, glancing at her. "I had to play him and Shuichiro in this one match, and we were lucky that we won. He couldn't play long enough to last the tie breaker." The female winked in agreement.

"He's to hyper," Yuta agreed.

Smiling, Cherrylea took the racket from his left hand and twirled it expertly on the ground. She glanced at the dark-haired manager of St. Rudolph. "So, what do you have on me, data wise?"

Hajime pressed his index finger against his forehead and recited, "Cherrylea Kai, born in Central Asia. Four feet and eleven inches, black hair and brown eyes. Started playing tennis at age five-and-a-half; female tennis prodigy and winners of three consecutive tournaments. Age eleven and three quarters. Enrolled into Seishun Academy this year, and on the girls' tennis team. Best move is the Fruit Smash, which can be used as a serve _and _a return to lobs. Always plays tennis with a colorful racket. Has super-sensitive eagle eyes. And best of all…"

The St. Rudolph males all gave each other mischievous looks before screaming in unison, "SHE LOVES RYOMA ECHIZEN!" They began to snicker, which dissolved into fits of laughter.

"Unfair–I do not like him!" She couldn't keep the smile off her face, even as she ruffled Hajime's hair almost affectionately. Her cheeks reddened as Shinya, Hajime, and Yoshiro made their taunts complete with kissing noises and sighs and moans, including Ryoma's noise. "See," she said as she wrapped an arm around Yuta's shoulders, "He's the only one who isn't going to–"

"Actually," Yuta interrupted nonchalantly, "I was thinking about the same things as well." With a pout, she stuck her tongue out just as her cell phone rang, playing the new song by Far East Movement. She reached into the pocket of her jeans, pressed a button, and then held her phone to her ear. "This is Cherrylea Kai. What do you want?" She sounded so business-tone and adult-like that it was obvious she thought the other end was a person looking for her tennis skills or one of her managers or something.

"Hey, Cherrylea."

A smile spread over her face. She knelt down to tuck in the legs of her jeans into her tall, black boots. "Shuichiro, how are you? Sorry I sounded so uncouth – I thought you were someone involved with my tennis." The St. Rudolph manager motioned for his teammates to resume the match while Cherrylea moved out of the way, taking a seat on one of the benches. She made sure to sit on her furry gray coat so she wouldn't get the seat of her pants dirty.

"I'm good, thanks for asking."

"So then what's up?"

There was a silence on the other end. "…um, nothing really, but I just had a question. Uh, you are home tomorrow night, right? No practice with Nanjiro or anything?"

She examined her nails – she really needed to repaint them. The cheap nail polish was already chipping. "That's a funny question, Shuichiro–why would I be doing anything with Nanjiro tomorrow night? It's a Saturday, silly. I don't practice all the time, you know."

He laughed. "Yeah, that's what I figured, but Ryoma had commented that 'tennis freaks like Cherry probably practice every second available on weekends'. Oh…he apologizes now…Ryoma, you don't sound very apologetic."

"Huh, really–let me talk to Echizen and give him a piece of my mind," she fumed. The upperclassman laughed. She then sighed. "Well, if that's it, I have to leave you for now…tell Shusuke I love his brother! I love you, Shuichiro!" She pressed the END button and stood back up.

"See you as well. Take it easy." Shuichiro flipped his cell closed and slipped it away, motioning for the Starters to gather around him. He looked at Shusuke. "I have a message for you – she says she loves your brother." Momoshiro and Eiji chuckled under their breaths, but "the genius" smiled lightly.

"Yeah, I kind of guessed that. It's almost as if she was reiterating my thoughts–Yuta has been saying he's been seeing a lot of her lately, up at the street court."

Eiji grinned at Ryoma and said teasingly, "Sorry, li'l bud, but it looks as if Cherrylea is interested in someone else than you." He snickered.

"Just like you're interested in a certain someone else?" the seventh-grader said without missing a beat. A hint of a smile broke out on almost every single one of the Starters–except for Kunimitsu, of course, and Kaoru–and Eiji's face turned bright red. He was strangely silent for the time's being.

"Hey," Aya cut in with a smile on her rose-pink lips, "give poor Eiji a break." Like her cousin, she was wearing an orange scoop-neck and dark blue denim jeans under a pink winter coat. She glanced towards Shuichiro. "I was right–Cherrylea's not doing anything tomorrow?" When he nodded, her blue eyes flashed happily.

"He! I knew it!" She leaned closer to the group; when she talked, her voice was strangely secretive. "Obviously, she's forgotten what day it is tomorrow, and it's going to be even special because I called in three assured fellows. Listen. I'm going to take her shopping right after breakfast, and that'll be around ten a/m. So that gives you the whole morning and afternoon to decorate her house…aunt Fantina has already agreed. When we walk in at eight tomorrow night, I expect the place to be amazing. All the guests were told to arrive at seven thirty–I'm so glad she has a huge house, so very close to a mansion." She looked at Kunimitsu. "Do you understand?"

He nodded. "Alright."

"Fantastic." She thought for a moment, scrunching up her eyebrows in thought before adding, "And dress nicely–what I mean by that is I expect all of you either in a suit and tie or a dressy shirt with some nice pants. Anyone who shows up in goddamn shorts and tennis shoes will have to deal _with me." _Her gaze was deadly and nobody commented. Then she smiled brightly. "Well, then, I'm off…see you tomorrow!"


	17. Chapter 17

The heavily enticing smell of food rose up into Cherrylea's nostrils, and the next thing she felt was a pillow flying right into her face, momentarily smothering her with her own perfume. Her air passageway blocked, she struggled to pull the pillow away and when she succeeded, she lay back against her own pillow, sucking in gasps of air. Then she opened her eyes with a groan. Who dared to wake her up so early–God, it had to be at least nine in the morning! And she had been having a delicious dream about a certain male…

Aya sat at the foot of her bed, smiling down at her cousin. "That trick still works, eh, Cherrylea? Sheesh, you don't have to act like someone was choking you or something." The blonde was still dressed in her baby pink pajamas, though her hair had been combed down.

Cherrylea scowled and than sat up with a loud yawn. "You know I have that." She was still tired; her vision was blurry with sleep. "So why'd you…"–insert another loud yawn–"…wake me up."

"You really have forgotten what day it is, huh?"

"Are you seriously implying for me to get up and go look at the damned calendar."

Aya laughed a shook her head. "Don't, please." She pulled the younger female from the crumpled sheets. "C'mon…get a comb to your hair and wash your face and brush your teeth and let's go down and eat breakfast, because I'm so starve-i-i-ing!"

Moments later, after she had pulled her hair into two school-girl fashioned pig tails and washed her face and brushed her teeth with minty fresh toothpaste, Cherrylea allowed Aya to drag her down the marble staircase and into the large five-star professional kitchen, where she found a wonderful surprise – there, sitting on a fine chine platter, was a double decked vanilla cake covered in homemade fudge icing and drizzled, melted chocolate and Oreo crumbs and white chocolate blobs that were shaped cleverly into roses and fudge ripples and a big cherry atop a toasted graham cracker. Translation: a chocoholic's passage to heaven.

"Good morning, sweetie pies," Ms. Kai greeted as she kissed both girls' heads. She smelled heavily of vanilla and she was in a good mood. "I trust you slept well?"

Cherrylea blinked, clearly shocked by the angelic heaping of food. "What did I do to deserve this?" she asked. She felt like she was going to explode with hunger and the desire to consume food at a wolfish pace. Her stomach rumbled softly, agreeing with her mind.

Ms. Kai laughed and led the two girls to the table. "Please, take a seat and eat some cake–you know I don't like to see my food go to waste, and this took an awful lot of time to cook, you know." With a quick nod, her daughter rushed to a chair and sat, staring up-close at the cake.

As she took a seat, Aya said, "Thank you, aunt Fantina. I haven't had this cake since we were back at home!" She glanced at Cherrylea, who was finally wolfing a piece of cake down her throat and then muttered to her mother, "And you know the plan…the boys should be here around ten." Ms. Kai nodded.

"No. Definitely not that dress…it makes you look like a strawberry."

Cherrylea rolled her eyes and stepped out of the pink satin dress with the puffy sleeves and high collar. She couldn't take any more of this madness–for the last _hour _she had been trying on dress after dress after goddamned dress. Even though she was extremely tired, she knew Aya could go on forever, since the enormous store was filled with dresses, ranging from sexy minidresses to flowy-long prom dresses.

Cherrylea had to admit that she looked fabulous so far. It was six-thirty in the evening, and both she and her cousin had been outside of home for eight hours so far. First she had gotten a French manicure and painted her nails a seductive, rich purple. Then she had spotted a workout gymnasium and begged Aya to take her for an hour–so while Aya sat reading magazines, Cherrylea had been running a few miles on the elliptical. Afterwards, Aya made the two get seaweed wraps at the mall's spa. Aya walked into a hairdresser, and the two exited out with new hair do's–her bond hair was curled and Cherrylea's black hair was trimmed to her shoulders and scrunched. They had smoothies and burgers for lunch around two. Cherrylea had allowed herself to be dragged into a romance movie, and she had sobbed along with Aya about the heartbroken couple. The movie was two hours, so it was now four. They wandered around the mall, buying earrings and shirts and shoes–Cherrylea had bought the most adorable neon purple stiletto heels–and browsing the books until they came across this damned store.

The store's shelves were stacked with dresses from around the world, with every shape and color imaginable, organized so that the reds were together, the blues were together, the greens were together, and so on. Aya had already chosen a dress for herself, though for what occasion Cherrylea didn't know, and it was a long blue dress that had a billowing skirt, a dipped collar, and paired with her blonde hair, it made her eyes stand out and become more bluer, if that was even possible.

"Why do you want me to find a dress?" she asked, looking at a hot pink cat-printed gown before flipping onto the next aisle.

Aya sighed softly, running a hand through her hair before eyeing a salesclerk. "Oh, excuse me?" The woman turned around, blinking her eyes. "I'm trying to find a dress for my cousin here. Would you mind helping me?"

The woman nodded brightly. "Of course!" She then gave Cherrylea an once-over, glancing at her complexion, her height, her hair. "Follow me." She began to walk over to the minidresses, much to Cherrylea's disappointment–she absolutely hated minidresses. She could never find the perfect one.

A short while later…

"Omigod, you look completely _adorabubble_!" Aya shrieked as she stared at her cousin, motioning for her to spin around. "Wow, Cherrylea, it's as if this dress was freaking made for you!"

The saleswoman smiled. "Another fashion crisis solved."

Cherrylea looked at herself in the full-length mirror propped up against the wall and she had to smile. She was wearing a low-backed white minidress that, in a way, resembled an American female tennis outfit. The dress stopped right at her thighs, exposing her smooth, toned legs, and it was incredibly snug on her tiny waist and chest. It made her tan radiate.

"Do you like it?" the woman asked, and when Cherrylea nodded happily, she let out a relieved breath. "Well, if you need anything else, please ask." She wandered off to go help another customer.

"Bye-e-e!" Aya called, and then turned to grin devilishly at her cousin. "You look absolutely delicious…wait 'til Ryoma sees you!" Then she laughed.

Reddening slightly, Cherrylea shot back, "And wait until Kitty Kikumaru sees you, honey–he won't be able to keep his paws off you!" She made a lazy, ionic paw at her embarrassed cousin, pulling the dress off and slipping back into her sweats. "So what's next?"

Aya checked the time before grinning. "Now we get ready for the show."


	18. Chapter 18

As you know, all stories have to come to a close at one point or another. And this story came to its' close here, in this final chapter.

If you are asking yourself, "What was the purpose of chapter seventeen?" then I have an answer for you. What happened was that it had been Cherrylea's birthday that day, but that's not why Aya had asked everyone to attend well-dressed. As a big birthday present, one that Cherrylea couldn't have wished for more, a certain someone attended the bash. Why, none other than _Cherrylea's Father, Hitomu Kai. _Truth be told, he actually hadn't died that night when Mateo had knifed him, as Cherrylea had told Ryoma. Instead, Rusty taken her and ran, so that when the police came about a few minutes later, they had literally shocked Mateo unconscious and brought a doctor onto the scene. The doctor checked Hitomu's wounds, and discovered that he was very lucky indeed–Mateo had missed his heart by a few centimeters. If Mateo had dug the knife just a little bit to the left, Hitomu would be dead.

You could imagine what happened to Cherrylea in that one moment. Her mouth dropped open, her body was still, and she literally quit breathing for a second before her eyes suddenly went shiny. With a scream as the estimated one hundred guests watched in silence and happiness for the seventh-grader, she ran towards her father and leaped and wrapped her arms around his waist. Ms. Kai herself was at a loss for words, and Aya was nodding happily.

"You didn't die?" Cherrylea had cried as tears began to roll down her cheeks. "Mateo didn't fucking kill you? But…I t-thought you…oh, my God–" Mr. Kai patted the top of her head comfortingly as she pressed her face against his ironed, clean navy blue shirt, clearly in shock.

The rest of that night had gone well. Cherrylea's favorite selection of music was playing loudly on the household stereo systems inserted in the walls, they had danced and talked and actually played a large tennis match in the indoor court that Cherrylea hadn't even known existed, the food had been wonderful, and everyone had been in high spirits. As Cherrylea started to cut her cake with all her classmates and the tennis team and her parents and Nanjiro watching, Mr. Kai had cleared his throat and given a large toast to his blossoming family. Mateo was nowhere to be found, but not a single soul cared.

So consider this the epilogue. Fast forward two decades.

Ms. Kai was currently still running _Sprinkles&Buttons, _while Mr. Kai had taken up tennis again, teaching kids to learn the wonderful sport. As for Cherrylea, well, she and Ryoma had gotten married when she had finished college (I'm sorry, I know some of you maybe be Sakuno+Ryoma fans, but this is how it is!) and so far they had two children, a boy and a girl. Aya and Eiji had also gotten married as well, and Aya is expecting a girl. The other Starters…they all kept in close touch, seeming to the fact that Ryoma plays tennis with the guys whenever they come for a visit or what not.

Cherrylea had also found out, recently, that Mateo had died quite a long time ago, around her twelfth birthday. He had been drinking at a bar, and someone said something that had pissed him off so much he had stormed out and gotten into his car and sped off, going more than 100 mph. It had been pouring torrents of rain in the city he had been in, and he hadn't been able to see. His brain nearly senseless and drunk on the beer, he had spun the steering wheel very similar as a sea captain would do to the wheel of his boat, and the car had roared over a safety railing and plunged into the murky, cold, unforgiving waters of a swirling river. The next day, a commoner had found the shiny red Ferrari bobbed in the water, and hunched over lifelessly in the driving seat was Mateo, his body nearly completely red with his own blood. When she had found out, Cherrylea had been still for at least two minutes, and then she let out a long deep breath.

"Are you okay about that?" Ryoma had asked as he gently rolled a tennis ball across the floor to his giggling son.

She had taken a seat next to him, leaning against his shoulder, and said quietly, "He died young and desperate." Then she closed her eyes, one lone tear trickling down her cheek. And that had been it.

And this story comes to a close. Even as she lies awake in her bed, with her arms around her husband, Cherrylea can still remember the day she first had been going to Seishun Academy, where she had asked Momoshiro for directions on which way. And she still remembered the match that had determined everything…

_Fin._


End file.
